Basque ethnography at a glance

Ziortza Artabe Etxebarria. Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.

Christmas would not be Christmas without walnut sauce, intxaur-saltsea. My grandmother Juli from Larrabetzu (Bizkaia) used to make it year in year out. I vividly remember entering the farmhouse and finding her cracking walnuts open. Her memory shall always remain with me.

Walnut sauce was a popular staple for many households, especially in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, where walnut trees abounded in forests and woodlands. A hearty, warming seasonal dish, perfect for the cold winter and as satiating as it is invigorating.

Walnuts begin to ripen and fall towards the end of September. They are picked up from the ground as they fall, and nuts left in the tree are loosened by shaking the branches or using a long, thin pole called baranda. Once harvested, they are hulled and allowed to dry, usually in the farm attic.

My grandmother used to say that making walnut sauce is quite arduous. Three are the main ingredients of this most humble dessert: walnuts, milk and sugar.

Ziortza Artabe Etxebarria. Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.

First, the kernels were separated from the shells and shredded. She would wrap them up in a clean cloth and crush them with a mallet to a fine texture. Modern appliances are used to finely ground them today.

Then she would place the three ingredients in an earthenware dish and cook them for about an hour, stirring it lightly. She would also add Marie cookies to thicken the mixture. Back in the day folks would even pour in some of the water where the salt fish had been scalded, because making good use of everything was a must, and in many inland houses salted cod was irreplaceable on Christmas tables, sea bream being more frequent in coastal villages.

My mother and my aunt keep with their mother’s tradition. In actual fact, this dessert, kind of forgotten for years, seems to have regained popularity in recent times. Blenders, food processors and kitchen machines can prepare the creamy, precious sauce of yesteryear in just seconds. It might not be what it was, as some ingredients have been lost in the way and new ones have appeared. All in all, this and other classics are as well liked now as before, and possibly, forever.

Ziortza Artabe Etxebarria – Popular Cultural Heritage Department – Labayru Fundazioa

Translated by Jaione Bilbao – Ethnography Department – Labayru Fundazioa