Baltimore21201.Com - The Blog: Baltimore, What's This Food? A Contest. And the Winner Is...

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The first person to identify the delicious edibles in this image will win 16-ounces of them from the best purveyor in the world. It's a swell prize.

To enter, you must post your best guess as a comment below. Entries by email, Twitter, or other sources are not eligible. The first correct answer wins. All entries will be posted on October 6th 2011 and the winner will be announced here at that time.

Good luck!

[UPDATE, DAILY CLUES]

Friday Clue: Charles Dickens wrote of them.
Saturday Clue: I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a _______.
Sunday Clue: Sometimes you feel like a _______, sometimes you don't.
Monday Clue: He looks like he's been weaned on a _______.

[FINAL UPDATE]

And the winner is... Mr Daniel Waldman!

He was the first to come up with Walnuts (on Friday, September 30th at 1:05 PM).

There were some great guesses in the mix:

grapes?
POSTED BY: DANIELDUBYA

Camembert, Black truffle manchego, smoked gouda, sliced black olives, caviar, the round thing next to the plate-liverwurst?
POSTED BY: LISA

Truffles?
POSTED BY: DIANE

Dried Brandy Figs?
POSTED BY: DIANE

Truffles?
POSTED BY: MMMCDERMOTT

walnuts
POSTED BY: DANIELDUBYA

prunes
POSTED BY: DANIELDUBYA

Look like olives to me, not sure what variety though.
POSTED BY: JAYVIE CANONO

I've got it! Century Egg Yolks!
POSTED BY: DANIELDUBYA

White truffles?
POSTED BY: BARNEY PARKER

black olives.
POSTED BY: KRISTIN MOLNAR

Sugar plums
POSTED BY: LYNNE COMBESS ADAMS

Quince
POSTED BY: GORDON GREEN

It looks like a (pickled) black walnut to me.
POSTED BY: RACHEL

There was a perfectly correct entry by Anisha Jagtap, owner and chef at Baltimore Burger Bar, and Chef at Puffs and Pastries. Unfortunately she only posted her entry on Twitter and the rules are the rules. Her entry via Twitter also brought the contest entries to a dead stop.

My friend, Andrea Snyder guessed black olives, but her entry was also only posted on Twitter so it's not on the time-line here.

I was amazed that Matt McDermott didn't win this little contest. We had pickled walnuts on the Stilton cheese board at our big December 2010 party -- We talked about pickled walnuts and he and his wife, the lovely Wendy, had some and liked them. (Though, thinking back, Matt was really busy with my speciality, chopped chicken liver.)

We buy our pickled black walnuts from Barnicle Farms located on Old Ten Mile Road in Eugene, Missouri. We have tried other brands, but we find the hand-crafted ones from Tony and Lorraine Barnicle in the heart of the midwest have the finest taste and texture of any that we have ever tasted. Pickled walnuts are a holiday tradition with us, but they are great year-round with any dominate cheese. Sliced thin they add glory to any egg dish (diced, they are amazing on deviled eggs), and as they have a bit of a Worcestershire flavor, they enhance any meat or game.

Here's the background story from the Barnicle's homespun website:

“Presently we drove on and in another hour we were hungry. We stopped at an inn, which was half farm also, and ate eggs and bacon, pickled walnuts and cheese, and drank beer in a sunless parlor.”
Evelyn Waugh, BRIDESHEAD REVISITED

“After they had bled him, the first faint glimmerings of returning animation were this jumping up in bed, bursting out into a loud laugh, kissing the young woman who held the basin and demanding a mutton chop and a pickled walnut.”
Charles Dickens, THE PICKWICK PAPERS

We were introduced to pickled walnuts at the home of a friend in London in 1981. After an evening of pickled walnuts, cheese, and beer, our host gave us his recipe that is hundreds of years old.

Since returning to Missouri we have been experimenting with the recipe, which is for pickled English walnuts. We wanted to see if we could process a similar product from the many black walnut trees that grow on Barnicle Farms.

This year, 2003, we are proud to introduce Pickled Black Walnuts. We were delighted when our product was approved by the USDA and even more excited when we received the “Agri-Missouri” certification from the Missouri Department of Agriculture. The Hammons company displayed our pickled black walnuts at their annual Walnut Festival.

We had planned to test the market this year and only produced 15 cases. Now we have a new problem. We are almost sold out and within a short time we expect to be selling futures. Next year we plan to pickle as many walnuts as we can gather.

It has been fun promoting Pickled Black Walnuts. Some people like them sliced thin on a cracker with cheese. Many like to grind them in a blender and use them as a condiment that can mix into a cheese dip or a salad. Use the ground pickled black walnuts to add flavor to your favorite meat dishes. You will enjoy experimenting. Whatever way you choose, we wish you a delightful experience. It will enrich your meal and the conversation at your dinner table.

We are so happy to be able to share our Pickled Black Walnuts with you.
-Tony and Lorraine Barnicle

One last thing, as many of you know, one of my favorite cocktails is the classic Manhattan. A quarter of a pickled walnut on the cocktail pick instead of the cherry adds a wonderful, mysterous flavor to the drink. Somehow the pickled walnut and the bourbon seem to instantly marry and enhance each other.

Thanks to everyone who played along with this contest. Keep an eye open for the next installment of Baltimore! What's This Food?