Fall Food: Black Walnuts

[mark_asphodel]

It is so still autumn.  Unless you're south of the equator, in which case you're enjoying spring.

When I was a very small child-- we're talking 3-4 here-- I was obsessed with See's Candies for two reasons: Mint Krispys and bonbons.  In the summer, they'd sell this pastel-colored mix of bonbons-- pink, orange, yellow, pale green.  The pink was coconut, and that was my favorite.  The orange was apricot and I thought it was nasty.  The green was... interesting.  I liked it, but not as much as coconut.  I remembered it, though.  Years later, decades later, I still had hazy memories of green-coated bonbons, even though the Summer Mix boxes didn't feature them any more.

See's Candies has a fairly long institutional memory, and as an adult I was able to confirm that the green bonbons really did exist, had been discontinued a long time ago, and that the haunting odd flavor was black walnut.  Black Walnut is one of those "old tyme" flavors like molasses that, whatever its role in cuisine and culture, has pretty clearly fallen from favor and exists as a niche market.  The nutmeats are hard to find, often quite expensive, and are just more assertive than English Walnuts.  I bought a pack last year at the local bulk food shop, and they went rancid before I could do anything with them.  

Well, I do keep trying.  Bought another pack today and plan to make a cake with them.  I also was lucky enough to find a bin of black walnut chips, which is great because now I don't have to mail order the darned things.  Even in bulk they're $9.99 a pound (see above re: expensive niche market).  The shop clerk and I bonded over a mutual love of black walnuts and things derived from them.  

Now, if I could just find a local source for marron glace...

Comments

[socraticwaffles.livejournal.com]

Black walnuts?! Eek, no way. We used to have three black walnut trees in our back yard...they smelled awful, the nuts rotted immediately, and if you touched one the smell clung to your hands all day, even if you washed them. My mom always told us they were poisonous. Maybe they're fine after they've been cooked? (Or maybe she just didn't want us eating them, haha.)

I'm still having a hard time imagining how to make those taste good, though O_o

[hooves.livejournal.com]

Well you have to wait until the green outside husk falls off, then you have to wait until the nuts are "ripe" (usually they are shortly after the husk falls off) and then you have to use a hammer to crack the nuts open, pull the actual nuts out, and then eat them.

I mean, IDK, we have walnut trees on the property. Sure we cut several down a few years ago, but I ate them all just fine as a kidlet. I'm not a huge walnut fan these days, but they ARE quite tasty. And not hard and crunchy. Love it.

[hooves.livejournal.com]

What is marron glace? All I know is that's the name of the grandmother in Rose of Versailles. :U

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

They're candied chestnuts. Very large, nice chestnuts that have been candied in a certain way so they have a sort of glaze on the outside and a lovely delicate interior. They're one of my favorite things.

[searains.livejournal.com]

I remember taking $15 gift cards from where my mom had been hoarding them in a drawer and buying a few pounds of candy once every few months with them. Mostly bonbons and truffles. I've never tried black walnut. I should if I have the chance.

Can you not order bonbons off their site? Balls.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

I think the bonbons went seasonal again. At least I hope it's a seasonal thing and not a "discontinued" one. Life without coconut bonbons is life that's a little more sad.