Walnuts - Shelled Halves, Raw

These are shelled walnut halves, raw and unsalted: ein gamal, as Egyptians call them, a name that means camel's eye. We buy them already shelled and pack them ourselves into resealable pouches of 250 g, 500 g and 1 kg. Most of each pouch is halves, with some broken pieces, as shelled walnuts always have. The colour runs from pale gold to light brown and varies from batch to batch; lighter kernels taste a little milder.

The taste is rich, buttery and mildly sweet, with a soft, tender bite rather than a hard crunch. The thin, papery skin on each kernel is soft and slightly bitter, which keeps them from tasting flat; it is part of the walnut and is eaten with it. Because they are raw and unsalted, they work as well in sweets as in salads.

In Egypt walnuts belong to Ramadan. Atayef, the small pancakes of Ramadan nights, are folded around chopped walnuts and sugar, then fried or baked and dipped in syrup. Konafa is filled or topped with them, and chopped walnuts go over muhallabia, the cold milk pudding, often with pistachios. In the weeks before Ramadan they are sold with raisins, dried apricots and dates as yamish, and set out on trays for guests through the month and at Eid.

Eat a few with tea or coffee, or at breakfast over yoghurt with honey. Chop them for atayef and konafa, scatter them over muhallabia, rice pudding or a green salad, or fold them into a cake or a loaf. For more crunch and a deeper taste, toast them for a few minutes in a dry pan, stirring, and let them cool before chopping: they burn quickly, so take them off as soon as they smell toasted.

Walnuts are a tree nut, one of the major food allergens, and for some people even a small amount can cause a serious reaction. This pouch contains TREE NUTS (WALNUTS). Keep it away from anyone with a nut allergy, and wipe boards and bowls after chopping. We cannot confirm that they were shelled or packed away from peanuts, other nuts or sesame, so if you have another food allergy as well, ask us before you order. Nut halves and pieces are a choking risk for small children: chop or grind them for young eaters.

Two things this page does not claim. We have not been able to confirm where these walnuts were grown, so no country is named here. Walnuts are also widely sold with long lists of claimed effects, and this listing repeats none of them. They are sold as food, and nothing here is a health claim or medical advice.

Walnuts go rancid sooner than almonds and most other nuts, because the oil in a walnut is delicate and goes stale faster in heat, light and air. Keep the pouch pressed shut, cool and dark, and in hot weather keep it in the fridge. We have no harvest date from the supplier, so count on about one month of best taste from delivery in a cool cupboard and about three months in the fridge. A light bitterness from the skin is normal; if they ever smell sharp, like paint or old oil, or taste harsh, they have gone rancid and are best thrown away.