128Green walnut spoon sweet

Method

Traditional Peloponnesian spiced method. Serve one whole black walnut in a spoonful of syrup on a small saucer.

You will need

• Vegetable peeler
• Rubber gloves
• Metal skewer
• Large preserving pan
• Sugar thermometer
• Sterilised glass jars

1. Wearing disposable rubber gloves to avoid indelible brown stains, thinly pare off the outer green skin of each walnut with a vegetable peeler, and pierce each walnut through from top to bottom with a skewer. 45 min Ready when: Walnuts peeled and pierced cleanly
2. Submerge the walnuts in a large bowl of cold water and leave for 8 to 10 days, changing the water twice daily, until the bitter tannins have leached out and the walnuts darken. 1440 min Ready when: Walnuts darkened to dark brown and bitterness gone
3. Place the debittered walnuts in a large pot of boiling water, boil for 10 minutes, drain, and repeat this blanching process two more times with fresh water to soften the skins. 35 min Ready when: Walnuts tender when tested with a toothpick
4. Drain thoroughly and insert one whole clove into the puncture hole of each walnut. 15 min Ready when: Each walnut studded with a clove
5. In a wide preserving pan, dissolve the sugar in 600 ml water with the cinnamon stick, add the walnuts, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat and rest overnight for 12 hours. 20 min Ready when: Walnuts resting and absorbing syrup
6. Return the pan to the heat the following day, bring to a boil, and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until the syrup thickens and reaches 105°C (221°F). 20 min · 105°C / 221°F Ready when: Syrup thick and glossy
7. Stir in the fresh lemon juice, boil for a final 2 minutes, discard the cinnamon stick, and ladle the pitch-black walnuts and hot syrup into sterilised glass jars, sealing immediately. 5 min Ready when: Jars sealed and syrup setting

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Make ahead and storing

Requires over a week of preparation; improves as it rests in the jar.

Store in sealed jars at room temperature for up to 2 years.

Substitutions

• vanilla pod for cinnamon stick. Vanilla provides a softer, less assertive spice profile.

Common mistakes

• Paring or handling green walnuts without gloves.. Juglone dye will stain skin and nails a stubborn dark brown for weeks.
• Using walnuts harvested too late in the summer.. If the woody internal shell has started to harden, the preserve becomes inedibly woody.

Regional variants

• Peloponnesian style using slaked lime water soak to create an extra-crisp exterior shell.
• Epirus mountain style flavoured with wild honey replacing part of the sugar.

About the dish

Karydaki is widely considered one of the most technically demanding Greek spoon sweets, traditionally made in early June before the walnut's inner shell has begun to lignify. Harvested when soft enough to be pierced through with a needle, the green walnuts require over a week of daily water changes to leach out bitter juglone tannins. Once debittered and boiled with cloves and cinnamon, they turn an arresting jet-black with a crisp bite and aromatic, spicy syrup. The Peloponnese and Epirus are particularly renowned for this preserve.

Found in Peloponnese, Epirus, Thessaly, Crete. Cooked for everyday, name day, christmas.

Cousins elsewhere

• Murabba al jawz (Levantine). A nearly identical preserve of immature walnuts soaked and candied in spiced syrup is made in Syria and Lebanon.
• Kavkasiuri kaklis muraba (Georgian). Traditional Caucasian green walnut preserves follow the same multi-day soaking and clove-spicing process.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

289 kcal · protein 1.9 g · fat 5 g (saturated 0.5 g) · carbohydrate 59.8 g (sugars 53.2 g) · fibre 3.9 g · sodium 6 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. Ancient monastic and mountain household craft of harvesting immature green fruit before shell calcification..