Some useful tips too. However, it is not the ‘official’ recipe. And those walnuts must come from the woods around Modena, or else it just will not be real Nocino.

Not sure about the vodka either, but then I don’t think it is that easy to find pure alcohol outside of Italy.

If it was sold in the UK, some banana would drink a few bottles, die, and cause the UK to introduce legislation banning all alcoholic drinks!

Cheers,

Alex

The juice from the walnuts will permanently stain anything it touches, so you might want to wear gloves while cutting them. Wash down the cutting board as soon as you are done cutting the walnuts.
Ingredients

* 30 green walnuts, early enough in the season so that they are easily cut with a knife
* 2 cinnamon sticks
* 5 whole cloves
* 1-inch piece of vanilla bean
* Zest of one lemon, cut into strips using a vegetable peeler
* 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
* 1 liter vodka

Other recipes I’ve found use orange peel instead of lemon, use spices such as mace, or include grappa. The next time I make nocino I may try the orange peel and even add a little star anise.
Method

1 Rinse and pat dry the walnuts. Cut them into quarters with a sharp chef’s knife or cleaver. Be careful as you are cutting them; if you’ve waited too late in the season to pick them, their shells may have begun to harden and cutting through them may be a little dicey. Watch your fingers.

2 Put walnuts, spices, zest, sugar, and vodka into a large glass container. The vodka should cover the walnuts. Cover and shake to mix well. Store for 6 weeks, shaking daily. As the days go by you will notice that the color of the nocino gets darker and darker.

3 When you are ready to bottle, remove the walnuts and solids with a slotted metal spoon. (Again be careful where you do this as the walnuts and the nocino will stain.) Strain the liquid through several layers of cheesecloth into glass bottles. (I’ve seen recipes that call for straining the liquid through coffee filters which I think would work fine too.) Cork tightly. According to David, nocino will last for several years if stored in a cool, dry place. The nocino will initially be rather bitter, but it will mellow over time. It’s best at least a year after it was first bottled.

Makes about 1 quart. Great for gifts.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/nocino/

There is an awful lot of cool Italian stuff too.

Merry Christmas to you,

Alex

Now, just what were you up to in Copenhagen??