Noix de Grenoble- Walnuts

Although the climate seems to be going mad and it is twenty five degrees Celsius in October, it is the season of ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness’, and the walnut trees are shedding their loads. In the fields, and on the roadsides, eager gatherers can be seen baskets or buckets in hand collecting fallen walnuts. My family returns from every stroll pockets bursting with the hard round shells. My French wife assures me that those falling on public paths are anyone’s. However, being French She doesn’t always stick to the paths last year she had a run in with a neighbour collecting walnuts under a tree in the middle of field. Despite this, it is true to say most inhabitants of our region collect rather than buy walnuts, largely due to the vast number of walnut trees here.
I must admit to never having thought about where walnuts came from. In London, as a child, I only ate walnuts at Christmas. Father Christmas always left a couple of walnuts and a satsuma in our stockings. Meanwhile, the residents of Grenoble in France knew exactly where walnuts came from; here in France they are known as ‘noix de Grenoble’, literally Grenoble nuts. The residents are proud of their nuts. In fact, in France the walnut is governed by two AOCs (Appellation d’Origine Controle first used for wines and now extended to other foods); the ‘noix de Grenoble’ and the ‘noix de Perigord’. The ‘noix de Grenoble’ even has its own website: www.aoc-noixdegrenoble.com
In the Grenoble region most farms have at least a few walnut trees. However, there are fields of walnut trees lining the roads entering Grenoble attesting to the importance of this tree to the region. South of Grenoble, heading towards Valence, giant ‘séchoirs’ (used to dry the walnuts) can be seen on the roadside. In the village of Vinay, it is possible to visit ‘Le Grand Séchoir’ (http://www.isere-annuaire.com/curiosite/vinay-sechoir.htm), a converted farm that traces the history of the ‘noix’. Walnuts have been grown around Grenoble since Roman times and local recipes make good use of the walnut. Here are three:

In the spring the French make an aperitif wine by soaking young green walnuts in red wine.

Vin de noix

32 green walnuts (collected at the end of June)
5 litres of red wine
1 litre of alcohol
800 grammes of sugar
1 stick of vanilla (optional)

The ingredients are left in a container for one month. The liquid is then strained off and bottled. The resulting wine improves with age.

This can be followed by the famous ‘Salade dauphinoise’

Ingredients :
- Lettuce
- Diced beetroot
- Diced boiled potaoes
- Diced Gruyère or Emmental cheese
- Walnuts broken into pieces
- Salad dressing, ideally made with walnut oil.

To Finish‘tarte au noix’ is a popular dessert.

Walnut tart

Shortcrust pastry

Filling:
150g walnuts broken into small pieces
20 cl whipping cream
1/2 cup water
75g sugar
2 tbs honey
2 egg yolks

Preparation:
Roll out dough and fit into tart pan , pressing against side. Cut off excess dough. Chill.

Filling:
Preheat oven to 220°C
Bring water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Boil, without stirring, until amber.
Remove from heat and immediately but slowly add hot cream . Once bubbles subside, stir in walnuts, honey and egg yolks.
Bake for 10 minutes. Decorate surface with walnuts.
Reduce oven to 170°C and bake until filling is golden-brown, 25 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

The nuts can also be pressed to release oil, much valued for salad dressings. Then there are the health benefits of eating walnuts. They contain Omega oils which help to combat cardio- vascular disease. The wood of the walnut tree is valued by furniture makers for its colour and properties. Rifles were made out of walnut wood during the Second World War. Even the walnut shells have uses in industrial applications, such as polishing certain materials. All in all, the walnut is a tree the residents of Grenoble can be proud of.