Nocino!

Ah the much coveted Nocino. I first tried making this last year with some moderate success. Most of the recipes I've seen recommend waiting a full year after the bottling of the liquor before it's imbibed. Needless to say, I did not wait a year by any means and consumed a batch within the first 6 - 8 months (with the help of some friends that were willing to aid in my experiment heh) - It was good, but I plan on practicing patience this time.

I would consider my first attempt a moderate success. I definitely need to practice patience this go around, and also want to tweak some of the ingredients as well. The original recipe I cultivated from other websites/ an italian family's recipe contained pure grain alcohol, cinnamon sticks, cloves, a small branch of juniper and lemon peel. As far as flavor profiles go, I think this round will take advantage of the cinnamon sticks, but I'll use orange peel, vanilla, and some star anise to create a mellower, hopefully more balanced flavor to play off the bitter sweetness the walnuts provide.

As far as alcohol goes, I've found as many recipes that use vodka as ones that use pure grain alcohol. The difference seems to be that, after the Nocino has sat, the recipes made with vodka don't have to be watered down. The watering down process would add the over all volume. So, since I have the walnuts, I'll do two batches this year. The variable between them will be the use of anise seed (whole star anise being difficult to find around here).

Nocino

1 liter Vodka
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 orange peel
1/2 vanilla bean
1 tsp anise seed
25 green walnuts, rinsed and quartered

Combine the ingredients in a glass jar that can be sealed and let it sit until the Autumn equinox/end of August/beginning of September (I've found recipes swearing by all three). At this time drain the Nocino through cheesecloth or a coffee filter into bottles. This makes one batch, I double it, so by the end I should have about 3 bottles of Nocino. It should be ready about a year after bottling, although, if the past has been any indication, it's perfectly safe to drink sooner than that ;-)



Funny story; keep the walnuts, peels and everything else in the jar after you've bottled the Nocino and pour over a bottle of Marsala wine - after ten days re-bottle the marsala and keep it chilled for a delightful apperetif (at least it worked spendidly last time. I'll update when the time comes.

Tomorrow I leave for France, so posting this summer will likely be non-existent, but do intend on keeping some kind of food log with me for the many delicacies I will enjoy.