It's a special night. Linked to the summer solstice and to ancient cults and magical rituals that symbolically evoke the walnut tree.
And it is the night in which the walnuts exposed to the dew must be harvested by hand to be used for the preparation of an also ancient liqueur, known as nocino or nocillo in the Campania dialects. A dark-coloured rosolio, very alcoholic with its 40 degrees, which is obtained from still green walnuts, with a soft shell that forms a whole with the internal kernel and green hull. The choice of that night is not only ritual, handed down through time by tradition, but corresponds to the state of the fruit more favorable to the production of the liqueur. In fact, it is only in that phase that the walnuts are richer in essential oils and vitamins and at the same time devoid of water. Anyone who is unable to harvest that night or the following day still has the option of doing so only until June 30, because beyond the nuts they would no longer be suitable for processing. Although, in light of the climatic changes that are beginning to manifest themselves, in various areas it has been decided to anticipate the harvest.
The twenty-four green walnuts, recommended and complete with all their parts, are cut in half and left to macerate in alcohol for thirty or forty days in sealed glass bottles and exposed to the sun. The liquid, stirred several times in that period of time, must then be filtered, to dilute it cold with a syrup, obtained with sterilized water, sugar and various spices: cloves and cinnamon, to which according to family recipes are added coffee beans – fresh or roasted – and nutmeg. The liquid obtained must rest for a couple of months before serving it as a liqueur and drinking it.
Incidentally, the nocillo, although widespread throughout Campania like walnut trees, originated in the inland areas, therefore in Sannio and Irpinia. While today it is recognized as PAT, Traditional Agri-Food Product.
