Infusing alcohol with nuts

[Ktepi]

I did a few searches for this because I could have sworn it was brought up before, but I didn't find anything, nor did I see it come up on the infused vodkas thread.

Anyway, I've been curious for a while about infusing alcohol with nuts, and at the moment I have a bag of cracked but unshelled shagbark hickory nuts which have been a real pain to shell -- which made me wonder if I could use them for an infusion, without taking the shells off.

Are there broad guidelines for nut infusions? I know duration is going to vary as it does with fruits, herbs, and spices, so I suppose the main thing I'm curious about is the shells. I have no idea if they have any relevant flavor or if they need to be ditched, in which case I'll probably use pecans instead.

[eje]

Ktepi,

First, check out Gunther Anderson's pages about "Liqueur Making principles and techniques". There are recipes there for many types of infusions and/or liqueurs, including some nut meat liqueurs.

It's pretty common for whole green Walnuts (or other nuts) to be cracked and macerated in alcohol before the shells and nut meats have entirely developed. Check out the Nocino or Vin de Noix threads here on eGullet.

Usually husks impart a bitter, herbaceous component to the end result. I would guess that any unsweetened nut husk infusion would be pretty unpleasant, even with quite a bit of age. More like a bitters than anything else.

I do not know if hickory husks are toxic or not (walnut husks and leaves are nominally toxic, but more to plants than animals). That would be something to find out.

Also, if the shells are developed and you don't at least crack or puncture the shells on your hickory nuts, probably you'll be getting flavor only from the husks. I don't think alcohol will easily penetrate the shells.

Typically, green walnuts are macerated for around 3 months before being sweetened and then allowed to age until around thanksgiving before being consumed. I think the superstitious rule is something like 40 days of maceration and 40 days of aging.

edit - added links to eGullet threads.

Edited June 22, 2006 by eje (log)

[Ktepi]

Ktepi,

First, check out Gunther Anderson's pages about "Liqueur Making principles and techniques".  There are recipes there for many types of infusions and/or liqueurs, including some nut meat liqueurs.

It's pretty common for whole green Walnuts (or other nuts) to be cracked and macerated in alcohol before the shells and nut meats have entirely developed.  Check out the Nocino or Vin de Noix threads here on eGullet.

Usually husks impart a bitter, herbaceous component to the end result.  I would guess that any unsweetened nut husk infusion would be pretty unpleasant, even with quite a bit of age.  More like a bitters than anything else.

I do not know if hickory husks are toxic or not (walnut husks and leaves are nominally toxic, but more to plants than animals).  That would be something to find out.

Also, if the shells are developed and you don't at least crack or puncture the shells on your hickory nuts, probably you'll be getting flavor only from the husks.  I don't think alcohol will easily penetrate the shells.

←

Oh, an excellent link, thank you.

I didn't even think of toxicity. Well, barring a problem there, I may try some hickory nut bitters with a small amount out of curiosity -- they're cracked, so the alcohol will at least get to the nutmeats -- and do something similar to the hazelnut recipe with just the meats from the rest.

[sparrowgrass]

I don't know if this info will be of any use, but American Indians crushed hickory nuts, shell and all, and boiled the resulting paste in water to make a soup. The nutmeats and shells were discarded after cooking, and the nut oil was skimmed off the top and used as cooking oil or flavoring for other dishes.

Unless the shells have some sort of toxin that is soluble in alcohol and not water, you should be ok.

[Sneakeater]

When my friends and I get together, the subject at hand is more like, "infusing nuts with alcohol."