Making Walnut Ink

Black walnuts fall to the ground in autumn and have a lime green husk covering the nutshell.

My neighbor texted me when he spotted the round lime green balls on the road in late October. I followed his directions driving in my car with my paper bags next to me.  

There is something about the scent of fresh walnuts that take me to a special place.  I associate these nuts with my father, who said "black walnuts are a delicacy".  He'd spend a lot of time peeling the green husks, cracking the outer nut shell to get to the delectable meat inside.  

I have tried making walnut ink many ways: with just green husks, with just black husks, boiling for an hour, for twelve hours, making a reduction.  My findings are the same no matter how I do it I get the very same brown ink.  There is only one way to make it darker and richer in my experience: add the ink to a cast iron pan and turn the heat up for 12-30 minutes.  It makes a very dark brown/black ink.  Play with timing to get different coloring.  

The Quality Control Inspector came to inspect the process.

Put your gloves on because all parts of this process will stain your hands for days.
Materials:

• gloves
• large old pan 
• funnel
• painters filter
• rock for crushing husks
• old spoon for stirring
• glass jars for storing ink
• paper towels or rags

Directions

1. Fill a pan of water to cover the green husks.  It's okay if the husks are black.
2. Let the water come to a boil and then simmer for an hour or overnight.  
3. Add a few cloves as a preservative.
4. Let the water cool and pour through a colander catching the brown liquid in a pan.
5. Filter the liquid.  I use a paint filter because it allows some of the smaller particles to come through.
6. Bottle, label and use.

Green husk shells

Nuts and husks

Squirrels love the nuts

The husks come off easily when a rock is used to press them open.  These husks are green and not rotten inside yet.  The black rot is okay to boil and use as ink.  Black walnuts may have a walnut maggot inside to help it with the decay process.  Gross but natural.  

fresh husks crush easiy with a rock and pressure

walnut maggots help the process of decay

cooked walnuts turn black

Cover the walnuts with water, bring to boil and then simmer.  The husks will all turn black.

filter used for house paint has larger holes than coffee filters

filter in funnel

pouring liquid through filter in funnel

Painters filters can be found in stores that sell paint for interior/exterior use.  I like to use these filters because the holes are more porous.  Coffee filters often take away so much of the ingredient that the color suffers.  

Batch of ink in stages of making.

Black walnut ink simmered in iron skillet

Interesting Walnut facts:

• Juglone is a toxic chemical contained in Black walnuts that make it a bad companion to be near other plants or near a garden.  Do research before considering planting a tree, or a garden near a walnut tree. 
• Black Walnut is known as one of the finest native North American lumber species.
• The nuts can be dried and stored up to a year and my father was right, the nut meat is not like the more common English Walnut.  Try it and see how you like it.