There is a delicacy made from candied walnuts which originally comes from the Palatinate region in Germany. By tradition, the still unripe green walnuts are picked in June and July of each year. It is important that they have reached their full size but have not yet formed the brown shell and are soft on the inside. They have to be treated in a laborious procedure in order to make them enjoyable. The walnuts are punctured with a needle and then watered for about 10 days. Through this process, the nuts lose their bitter tannic acid and turn brown and later completely black. As the next step, the walnuts are boiled in water and then marinated in sugar syrup for several days. The sugar slowly replaces the water in the nuts to create the sweet flavor. At the end, the nuts are boiled down with sugar syrup in preserving jars and left to ripen for several months. Just like with a good wine, the taste of the black nuts improves with an increased storage period. After approximately six months, just in time for Christmas, they taste great if thinly sliced and served with wild game, beef or ice cream.