Green walnuts, are they edible?

In early summer, I sometimes cook with green walnuts.

My first time was about five years ago, experimenting with vodka for nocino, and also making pickled walnuts. The nocino didn’t get much use back then, but the pickled walnuts were a hit — served with vegan cheese at our fully vegan events, or as a salad topping.

Pickled walnuts are a well-established part of English culinary history, with mentions in literature and recipe books dating back to the Georgian era in the 1700s. According to Wikipedia, botanist Richard Bradley mentioned pickling walnuts in his 1728 book The Country Housewife and Lady's Director. Charles Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers and Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited also reference pickled walnuts, showing their lasting place in English food culture.

When the nuts are unripe, with their green husk still soft, they have a very aromatic scent. After long pickling, that fresh aroma transforms into a metallic, spicy fragrance.

This year, I made my pickles with cherry vinegar I prepared last year — the pairing worked perfectly.