Walnuts occupy a special plate in my heart. Make walnuts with a sugary crunch even more exciting by introducing these variations.

Time: 2/5
Done and over in a jiffy

Effort: 2/5
Doesn’t take long, but it’s all action

Bring the heat

Walnuts occupy a special place in my heart. I had to go through a surgery for a broken ankle once, and the anaesthesia took the better part of a day to wear off. Waves of nausea would wash over me unpredictably, and there was little chance I could keep down a full meal.

Fortunately, my dear mother had left me a pound of walnuts during one of her visits, which my stomach could handle well enough. I would sneak little bites of them when I felt well enough, and the day after I had recovered enough strength to eat proper food. Being so energy dense dense with various vitamins and healthy fats, it was the right thing at the right moment.

However, the walnuts my mother gave me were as plain as can be – raw, unsalted, unseasoned. There was a lot of them left to take home from the hospital, and one can only eat so much raw walnuts until one gets tired of them. I looked around on the internet, and was delighted to come across the concept of candied walnuts.

By coating them in a sugary syrup and letting the coating harden as it cools, the walnuts were transformed into, well, candy. They turned out to be wonderful additions to salads, as toppings for tarts and pancakes, as a pie filling, and as a snack on its own. I would keep a batch in the fridge, come in from work, and pop a few in my mouth to fuel a workout before dinner. Maybe a few more after the workout too, for good measure. The batches didn’t last very long.

I also found that small additions made a big difference. A dash of salt brings a surprising amount of complexity to the basic sweet-caramel flavour. I’ve done batches with cinnamon, with vanilla. I even once made them with a more savoury lean with garlic powder and cumin (and got mixed reviews – try at your own risk).

This time, I made another experimental foray into unknown territory. Inspired by the intense sweet-and-spicy curries I had on a trip to Thailand, I wanted to see what happened if I added some heat to candied walnuts.

It turned out pretty well. The spiciness was attenuated significantly by the sugar, but it was still noticeable in the backdrop providing a nice, subtle contrast. I’m glad to report that I’m happy with the results.

Dramatis Personae

Walnuts

Ultimately, the batch size will depend on the size of the vessel you use to make the syrup coating. I had about 225g or half a pound, which ended up more or less covering my 10 inch pan in a single layer. You could get roasted walnuts for this, but they’re cheaper raw and pretty easy to cook yourself.

Sugar – about 10-15% of the walnuts by weight

I began with 10% by weight, which gave the walnuts a light coating and a suggestion of sweetness. I didn’t get the crunchy sugar coating I was going for, so I went with 20% at the end. That was a bit too much, I ended up with some excess syrup in the pan which couldn’t find any purchase on the nuts at all. You may need to experiment, but I’d suggest 10% if you’re trying to sweeten and 15% if you’re trying to coat.

Extras

A bit of salt to anything sweet is always nice to lend some depth to the flavour. The only other addition I made was chili flakes, but almost anything that’s a powder or dissolves in water can go here. Let your creativity run wild!

Executive summary

1. If using raw walnuts, toast them in a pan or roast them in the oven and reserve.
2. In a non-stick pan, dissolve sugar and the extras in water. Reduce the syrup until thick and bubbly.
3. Mix in the walnuts and coat in the syrup.
4. Spread the walnuts out and allow to cool.
5. Put some away in the fridge before you eat them all

Play by Play

Getting the gang together. I’m always surprised by how much cheaper raw walnuts were when sold loose and by weight, than when roasted and pre-packaged.

Toast the walnuts over gentle heat until fragrant. I just dumped the entire bag into the pan, which introduced some walnut dust that was in great danger of burning. Be a conscientious cook, and lift the walnuts out of the bag and into the pan instead. Err on the side of under-done when deciding when to pull them out; they can cook longer in the syrup, but there’s no going back from burning them.

The walnuts are toasted and hanging out in a bowl, where the walnut dust can settle onto the bottom. Now it’s time to add the sugar and the extras, along with a splash of water to help things along.

Gentle heat, and don’t walk away. The sugar will dissolve in the water, and the syrup will progressively thicken. Wait for this big bubbles situation and reintroduce the walnuts.

Toss the walnuts to coat. If you want the walnuts to cook a little longer, or if the syrup still looks thin, give it some more time on the heat now. But do keep in mind that the residual heat will continue to brown the syrup even after the stove is shut off. Spread the walnuts out and let them cool down, on a different surface if you can spare it. Leaving them right in the pan is also fine, that’s what I did because I couldn’t spare the counter space, but be prepared to spend some more effort separating the nuts afterwards.

Enjoy!

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