Honey and Green Walnut Gelato

Recently I bought a jar of green walnut jam at my local Starsky- more like green walnuts in syrup, but still. I'd never tasted green walnuts, since I don't have access to a tree, so it piqued my curiosity. 

This is the brand I used- mind you, it wasn't empty before.

Green walnuts are simply unripe walnuts, and can be preserved in syrup, pickled, or even made into liqueurs such as nocino and liqueur de noix. The whole immature walnut is used, fleshy outside and all, cut into pieces if it's big. I'd love to try preserving my own, but I somehow suspect that the walnut trees in my neighbourhood are the more strongly flavoured black walnuts, so I'll have to do further research as to whether it's a good idea to use them (furthermore, I'd have to find a tree in a secluded enough place that nobody is questioning me picking the unripe nuts...).

'Till then, this jam made a lovely introduction to their flavour. They've got none of the taste you'd expect from walnuts, nor the texture- they seem more like giant raisins, only with a more floral, subtly nutty taste and some sourness from the syrup (which contains citric acid). The note of acidity helps keep the sweetness from becoming too cloying as well. It's kind of odd, but they kind of remind me of a sweet version of capers in that they make an interesting, hard to describe addition in terms of both texture and flavour. Seriously, I have no idea how else to explain these things. You've got to try them for yourself.

Anyways, I wanted to do something with the jam that'd take full advantage of its uniqueness and also allow me to stretch it a bit further (it ain't cheap!). I've been meaning to try making gelato for quite some time- the idea of a frozen desert that has a smooth texture without requiring eggs or vast quantities of cream is and was very appealing. I can't say this is a purist's recipe, given the powdered and evaporated milk, but it gives a very impressive result in terms of smooth, non-icy texture and rich taste. The ease of preparation and lack of a need to buy a new box of eggs is also a plus. I still kind of consider eggs and cream luxury products, since if I'm going to get them I'll only get the organic, free-range, top-notch ones, and those can get pricey. I've already gone through nearly two dozen eggs and a litre of cream (really) so I had to temper my ice-cream-making enthusiasm with something else.

I used a manuka honey from New Zealand that has a flavour just as unique as the green walnuts- it's kind of musty, but in a good way, and almost smokey along with the floral aroma. Honey goes with green walnuts just as well as it does with ripe ones, with the sweetness contrasting the tanginess of the green walnut jam and the subtler flavours complimenting one another. You can use any nice, light honey, but I wouldn't recommend anything too strong as it would compete too much with the green walnuts.

This is definitely not going to be the last gelato I make along this formula, since it works so beautifully. I'll want to make my own evaporated milk for next time, though... But that's an experiment for another day. 

Honey and Green Walnut Gelato
Adapted from Kochtopf

200 g. Whole milk
50 g. Evaporated milk
50 g. Powdered whole milk
1 TBSP Cornstarch
110 g. Light honey, preferably manuka
210 g. Whipping cream (35%)
150 g. Green walnut jam

Whisk together all but the whipping cream and green walnut jam. Pass through a strainer into a small saucepan, pushing through any clumps with a spatula to crush them. Bring to a rolling boil, then cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Take off the heat and keep stirring for another minute.

Pour into a cool bowl and refrigerate overnight. The next day, whip the cream and fold half of it into the cooked mixture. Fold in the other half. Spoon the mixture into an ice cream maker and operate according to the manufacturer's instructions.

In a freezer-safe tupperware container, spoon in about 1/3 of the gelato. Drizzle on 1/3 of the green walnut jam. Repeat this until all the gelato and jam is used. Put in the freezer immediately to firm up, and leave at least 6 hours (preferably overnight) before consuming.