
Jams
Walnut preserves from Hilița made by mrs. Doina
It’s a place far from the everyday, where walnut trees have become guardians of time. It’s a moment, a precise, almost mathematically marked moment, where nature slowly awakens and offers us some of the most delicious fruits. It’s a moment at the beginning of June when flavors are refined and intensified by nature. In all this science of harvesting, Mrs. Doina knows that only a few weeks a year can walnuts be picked for a preserve like no other tasted in these parts. We find ourselves in Hilița, at her home, at Mrs. Doina’s, right on the outskirts of Iași, a somewhat timeless place adorned with a multitude of fruit trees: from various cherry trees to apricots and peaches, from sour cherries and pears to plums and walnuts. It would be a great pity for these fruits not to become delights on the table, even in front of the most discerning guests. The walnuts were carefully picked, left to rest in water, and, one by one, taken in hand to undergo the next stage in preparing the preserve.
Mrs. Doina knows them by texture, perhaps even by weight, and with special rigor, she selects only the fruits worthy of being part of the preserve. Over a fairly hot wood fire, in a pot that has seen many batches of walnut preserves over time, Mrs. Doina prepares the syrup that will bind the proud concoction. When the syrup thickens, the walnuts nestle one by one in the sweet nectar to shed some of their slightly bitter aroma and become just right in texture. The cooking doesn’t take long, but the homemaker keeps a close eye on the pot to prevent the preparation from smoking and acquiring a taste other than the one she and those who have tasted her products for years are accustomed to. In the end, when it hasn’t completely cooled, the green walnut preserve will sit proudly in jars of all sizes, for all cravings. It’s a place, far from the world, in Hilița, where perhaps the best green walnut preserve ever made is crafted.
Ingredients:
This preserve is specific to the month of June because in July, the shell starts to harden and becomes woody. For 100 walnuts, well-peeled of their green shells, leaving only the beautiful white color, placed in cold water with a bit of lemon as soon as they are cleaned, prepare a syrup with 1 liter of water, 1 kg granulated sugar, and a large lemon.
Preparation:
- Boil the syrup until it thickens and passes the plate test (meaning if you put a few drops of syrup on a plate and tilt the plate, the composition doesn’t slide).
- Then add the drained walnuts and boil them together for about an hour.
- Afterward, put them in jars, sterilize them carefully, and enjoy them for breakfast or in various sweet dishes.