Monday, August 23, 2010

How To: Wet Walnuts (Walnut Syrup)

If you're like me, you love wet walnuts on ice cream! Yum!

Just look at that spoonful!


The only thing I don't like about buying wet walnuts at the store, is the cost-- ouch!
So, I searched and searched and finally found a recipe to make and can my own wet walnuts!
I've been making my own for quite a while now, and the recipe has been tweaked and changed to the way I like it. Here's the way I make it:

You'll need:

8 cups of light brown sugar (for no measuring, buy 2 bags of brown sugar 32 oz or 2 pounds each)

2/3 cup corn starch

3 tsp maple extract

16 cups of walnuts

6 cups cold water

You'll also need your canning supplies plus 10 clean pint-size canning jars and lids.

{Makes 10 pints}


Dump your brown sugar in a large pot and add corn starch.


Add the maple extract


Add the 6 cups of cold water and whisk to combine ingredients.
Bring to a boil.


While waiting for the syrup to boil, get your clean jars and fill with walnuts. Divide the 16 cups of walnuts evenly into 10 jars.
I like to tap the jars on the counter to help settle the nuts and then add a few more, pressing firmly to make sure there is at least 1-inch headspace.

When the syrup starts to boil, let it boil at least 10 minutes.


Using the jar funnel, ladle the hot syrup into each jar, until it reaches the top, leaving 1-inch headspace. Wipe rims, cap with lids, then place into canning pot.

10 jars fit nicely here.
Cover and bring to a boil. When boiling starts, can for 10 minutes.

Let sit in canner off the heat for a little bit, then remove and cover with a towel to keep from cooling too fast. When cool, check for sealed lids and store in a cool place.

Once you open a jar, keep in the fridge.
---
Incidentally, this is also the recipe for my pancake syrup, just keep out the walnuts.
When I had the wet walnuts in the canner, I made another batch of syrup.

I love yard sales, where else can I pick up a 1/2 gallon Atlas jar for 25 cents??


The syrup recipe will make 3 quarts. I pour 1 quart into the old syrup bottle and 2 quarts in the 1/2 gallon jar.

Store in the fridge and refill the syrup bottle as needed.

Let me know if you make this and how you like it! This also makes nice gifts for people and you can use those smaller 1/2 pint jars instead.
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21 comments:

Unknown said...

OK Jenny, I've been waiting for this post. Can't wait to try it! Are you canning on a glass top stove???

jenny said...

Karen-- Yes, I am!! I hear that you're not supposed to can on glass top stoves, and that they don't get hot as fast, but I've had no issues with it. I've been canning on glass top stoves over 10 years now, so far so good! Good luck with the walnuts! Let me know if you like it! :o)

Johnna Sutton said...

I'm soooo maken these! I've never heard of wet walnuts, they look sooo yummy!

Unknown said...

At this point I am willing to try canning on my glass top again. I got a new pressure canner last summer, and used it carefully but still managed to put a few small scratches on my top. I took the canner back since it clearly said it could be used on a glass top stove (just made me mad that it scratched), but I miss that canner!

jenny said...

Johnna-- it's SO good! I hope you make some!

Karen-- After 5 years of constant use, my glasstop is not pretty anymore, but the canner didn't add any more scratches to it. I don't slide it when it's full and lift it, so I don't know why yours got scratched. Now that I have the pressure canner, I can't imagine NOT having one!! I've already lost count of how many times I've used it since getting it a month ago! :o)

Anonymous said...

I recently moved from New York to Ohio. Wet Walnuts are very common in NY. People here don't know what I'm talking about. I found another recipe but really like this one. Thanks a bunch, I can eat ice cream again!!!!
MAC

jenny said...

MAC-- Glad to help! I remember when we lived down south, we had a hard time finding wet walnuts at the store, Dad would stock up when he found some. Maybe it's a northern thing?? If you make extra, they make great gifts, too! :o)

Anonymous said...

When you say "can for 10 minutes" you are saying that you boil jars in canning pot for 10 minutes? Also, when jars are in canner for 10 minutes does it replace toasting the walnuts? Does this practice remove the bitterness in walnuts? Thank you for the recipe. As you can tell I know nothing about canning, but I love wet walnut and only see sold in very small jars at store for a good chunk of change for such a small jar.

Cajuns N Cowboys said...

I cook most if not all of my food from scratch but canning is something I have never done nor has anyone in my family that I know of. I am from New Orleans but now live in Montana, def. a canning area (smile) but just want to start small someone said jams and jellys just not sure where to start, what I need or how help please and I am going to try this recipe for sure...

Anonymous said...

They are not that hard to find here in the south, but we don't call them wet walnuts. Look around were the ice cream toppings are located in your grocery store they should have a little jar of Walnuts in syrup for like $4. I love walnuts and pineapples on ice cream. That's why I was looking for a recipe so I could make the walnuts cheaper.

Anonymous said...

I do not have any canning supplies, nor do I relky know how. I was wondering if I could cook it over the stove for those ten minutes instead of in jars, and then freeze it in batches? Anyone have any insight if this would work?

jenny said...

Anonymous July 10-- I can't see why it wouldn't work if you froze it. Just make sure you have freezer safe containers, and then freeze in small batches. I keep my walnuts in the freezer if I don't eat them fast enough, and they taste just fine, so I imagine if you put them in liquid and freeze them, it'd be alright. Let me know how it turns out if you try this!

Anonymous said...

do you boil for 10 min. or do you process in canner for 10 min.
also do you toast your walnuts

jenny said...

Aug 6 Anonymous-- I do not toast my walnuts, but you could if you wanted to. I imagine that would bring a different flavor with toasted walnuts. You boil the liquid about 10 minutes before pouring over walnuts in the jars and then you process the pints for 10 minutes to seal the jars. Hope that clears it up.

Unknown said...

I was wondering I just started canning and thought you could only do a water bath with fruit and tomatoes. That everything else was pressure canning. (all things I read about dont mention nuts though) Please help this recipe looks GREAT and would love to make this and can. You are right expensive for wet nuts and small jar too:( Thank you for the post just put you on favs:)))

jenny said...

Diane K-- I felt the same frustration you're feeling now when I was starting to can and couldn't find certain recipes to can different things. I looked and looked in all the canning books for a walnut syrup recipe and then I found a few. I have now been canning for 15 years and maybe 12 of those years I have been making and canning wet walnuts. I can assure you that canning wet walnuts in a water bath is perfectly safe and they come out great! As a matter of fact, I just had a bowl of ice cream last night with some walnut syrup I made and canned last year-- yummmm! Tastes wonderful! Just be sure you boil the syrup 10 minutes to completely dissolve the sugar and corn starch and then boil in the water bath for 10 minutes to seal. I'm about due to make some more myself! Hope this answers any concerns you may have had.. Thanks for writing!
~jenny

Folk Quilts said...

This recipe is EXCELLENT!! Thank you!! I used half-pint jars and turned out 14 total.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for getting back to me. Just got my pressure canner and made 9 jars of chili yummy:)) I am going to try this recipe tomarrow. Thank you again:)

Anonymous said...

this is awesome, my wife loves wet walnuts I am going to try this this weekend.

thank you

Anonymous said...

thank you so much i need wet walnuts to make my favorite Oreo ice cream cake and its not over here in Saudi Arabia. Any way thanks a lot

Unknown said...

I made these last year a
nd added 1/2 cup bourbon to the syrup after removing from heat before pouring in jars and it was amazing.