Sucuk — Walnut Strings in Thickened Grape Juice

⏱ 85 min · 🍽️ 6 Servings · 🧂 5 Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 450 g walnut halves (about 160, ideally whole, pale halves)
  • 1.5 l grape juice (100 % not-from-concentrate, unsweetened)
  • 120 g plain flour (type 405)
  • 60 g cornflour
  • 100 ml grape molasses (see the recipe Dims — homemade grape molasses; or shop-bought grape molasses, Turkish Üzüm pekmezi)

Instructions

  1. Cut six pieces of strong, undyed cotton thread, each about 50 cm long, tie a thick knot at the bottom end and thread the other end through a long, thick darning needle. Thread the walnut halves one after another through the middle, all with the rounded side facing the same way, and push them tightly together into a string of about 30 cm; leave 20 cm of thread free at the top and knot it into a loop.
  2. Hang the strings from a pole, such as the handle of a long wooden spoon laid between the backs of two chairs, and place a sheet of baking paper underneath to catch the drips.
  3. Whisk the flour and cornflour with 400 ml cold grape juice in a bowl until free of lumps. Bring the remaining grape juice to the boil with the grape molasses in a wide pan.
  4. Pour the flour mixture into the boiling juice in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Keep stirring without a break over a medium heat until a thick, glossy pudding forms that thickly coats a spoon; the pudding bubbles and spits, so stir with a long wooden spoon and wear long sleeves.
  5. Take the pudding off the heat and let it cool a little so that it clings better when dipping.
  6. Hold each string by its loop, dip it completely into the pudding, pull it out slowly and let it drip, then hang it back on the pole. Leave the strings to dry until the surface is no longer sticky; meanwhile keep the pudding covered and give it a quick stir before the next dipping.
  7. Repeat the dipping and drying two or three more times until the coating is about 5 mm thick and the walnuts only show through as bumps. If the pudding becomes too firm, stir it smooth again over a low heat with a little grape juice.
  8. Leave the strings to dry for five to seven days in an airy, dry and shady place, not in the sun, where dust and insects can get to them; protect them loosely from dust with a clean cloth. They are ready when the surface is dry and leathery and gives only slightly when pressed.
  9. Remove the thread from the strings by cutting off the knot and pulling the thread out, then cut them into slices of about 1.5 cm with a sharp knife.
  10. Tip: Individually wrapped in baking paper, the strings keep for two to three months in a tin in a cool, dry place, or for six months frozen; if any mould appears, throw the whole string away. Walnuts cause allergies in some people, so ask guests beforehand, and only give small children the walnut pieces in thin slices. Any leftover pudding can be used to make Bastêq — grape leather with walnuts.
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Sucuk — Walnut Strings in Thickened Grape Juice – Recipe and image AI-created, editorially reviewed
📖 Culinse

🤖 Recipe and image AI-created, editorially reviewed · About our AI transparency

kurdistansnackveganvegetarisch

Sucuk — Walnut Strings in Thickened Grape Juice

A Kurdish classic that comes to the table in every Kurdish region: after the grape harvest in autumn, walnut halves are threaded onto strings and dipped several times into a thick, dark pudding made from grape juice, and after drying for five to seven days in an airy place, the strings hang in the pantry as a sweet treat for the winter. In Turkey it is called Cevizli sucuk, in Armenian Rojik. Cut into slices, the coating is firm, slightly chewy and fruity-sweet, and the walnuts crunch inside.

⏱

Cook time

85 min

🍽️

Servings

6

🧂

Ingredients

5

View Original ↗

Nutrition

per serving

811 kcal

Calories

14 g

Protein

48 g

Fat

80 g

Carbs

Ingredients

For 6 servings

Instructions

  1. 1

    Cut six pieces of strong, undyed cotton thread, each about 50 cm long, tie a thick knot at the bottom end and thread the other end through a long, thick darning needle. Thread the walnut halves one after another through the middle, all with the rounded side facing the same way, and push them tightly together into a string of about 30 cm; leave 20 cm of thread free at the top and knot it into a loop.

  2. 2

    Hang the strings from a pole, such as the handle of a long wooden spoon laid between the backs of two chairs, and place a sheet of baking paper underneath to catch the drips.

  3. 3

    Whisk the flour and cornflour with 400 ml cold grape juice in a bowl until free of lumps. Bring the remaining grape juice to the boil with the grape molasses in a wide pan.

  4. 4

    Pour the flour mixture into the boiling juice in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Keep stirring without a break over a medium heat until a thick, glossy pudding forms that thickly coats a spoon; the pudding bubbles and spits, so stir with a long wooden spoon and wear long sleeves.

  5. 5

    Take the pudding off the heat and let it cool a little so that it clings better when dipping.

  6. 6

    Hold each string by its loop, dip it completely into the pudding, pull it out slowly and let it drip, then hang it back on the pole. Leave the strings to dry until the surface is no longer sticky; meanwhile keep the pudding covered and give it a quick stir before the next dipping.

  7. 7

    Repeat the dipping and drying two or three more times until the coating is about 5 mm thick and the walnuts only show through as bumps. If the pudding becomes too firm, stir it smooth again over a low heat with a little grape juice.

  8. 8

    Leave the strings to dry for five to seven days in an airy, dry and shady place, not in the sun, where dust and insects can get to them; protect them loosely from dust with a clean cloth. They are ready when the surface is dry and leathery and gives only slightly when pressed.

  9. 9

    Remove the thread from the strings by cutting off the knot and pulling the thread out, then cut them into slices of about 1.5 cm with a sharp knife.

  10. 10

    Tip: Individually wrapped in baking paper, the strings keep for two to three months in a tin in a cool, dry place, or for six months frozen; if any mould appears, throw the whole string away. Walnuts cause allergies in some people, so ask guests beforehand, and only give small children the walnut pieces in thin slices. Any leftover pudding can be used to make Bastêq — grape leather with walnuts.

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