June: Time for Homemade Italian Nocino

It’s the end of June time to prepare your homemade Nocino. It’s sweet-bitter, thick and syrupy, with a dark color like a ink. In Italy there are a lot of recipes to prepare Nocino, every family has his secret in composition, time and handling. In Spilamberto a small town near Modena was founded a Association for Nocino, the members are all women and yearly they organize contest where is given a prize at the best Nocino of the year.Nocino is made with unripe walnuts, still soft in their green husks. The time to make nocino is June 24. Traditional Italians recommend the walnuts be

harvested on the night before San Giovanni, June 24 because in this days the nut-husk is rich of substance, but also because we consider this night magic especially for picking aromatic and medical herbs.
Nocino must serve at the end of the meal as a digestive It is something to be sipped in small amounts, from a tiny glass after meal, and this is how I enjoy it.
Perfect also on Panna Cotta
In the past, after to had filtered the Nocino, the nuts remained inside the bowl was infused again with white vine to obtain a special vermouth.



Nocino

30 unripened walnuts
1½l alcohol (95°)
750g sugar
2g cinnamon
10 cloves
400ml water
1 lemon
Cut the walnuts into 4 and infuse them with all the other ingredients in a 4½l glass bottle. Close tightly and keep it in a warm place (in the sun) for 40 days. Shake it every now and then. Then filter it and bottle it (taste it a few days beforehand and if it is too strong add some water).Suggestion: In Italy walnuts are gathered the night of the 24th of June.