I really want to recreate the sweet pickled walnuts I had at Mourayo. I found a recipe on davidgreggory.com that looks promising. The question is where do I find raw walnuts around here?

By raw do you mean freshly picked? I have seen fresh ones at the DuPont market, but that was a few weeks ago. Aren't the ones sold in grocery stores raw?

Raw walnuts are available at any Whole Foods in their bulk section (if they have one). Also, the Bethesda Co-op on Seven Locks Road just off of MacArthur carries them, as well as bulk spices.

To clarify, I'm looking for raw walnuts in the shell...

I'm fairly certain there's an open bin of unshelled nuts, including walnuts, at my local Safeway. It should be noted that it is a larger Safeway. I'm not sure if the little neighborhood ones have these as well. The bin is in the fresh fruit and vegetable section. Near the onion and potato bins.

Most grocery stores are just LOADED with these right now. 'Tis the season, ya know?

The green ones? Which stores have these?

Ah! By raw you mean freshly picked, not the dried version in the grocery stores. You will probably have to order them. Try here.

i never knew there was such a thing as green walnuts. they are green in their husks, but that was many weeks ago. now they are black with decay and you can still find them under the trees though they are probably past their prime. we are talking black walnuts here, and from my experience they aren't worth messing with. the trick is to get out into the country and buy them shelled at a stand. unhusking them is an arduous task and you will encounter hundreds of small white worms. david lynch doesn't just make this stuff up.

english walnuts were still being sold last sunday at the dupont circle market for $4 a container, and i would not be surprised to see them this sunday. i would assume pickling would soften them up. i don't know how raw you can get in the walnut world, and even if you found what you think you are looking for, wouldn't the purpose be primarily for mashing into a paste. i have heard that you can do this with acorns, but i have never gotten around to looking into it. there are some things best left for the squirrels.

(after originally posting this i checked out the site above and i'm still not entirely sure of what the green walnut encompasses. it sounds like an immature nut, a case of arrested development. however, even in california it looks like the season is june. walnut husks/hulls are oily and citrusy.)

This is exactly what I mean! Thanks so much!