Walnut Ink Recipe

Here is an interesting tutorial for those interested in making their own writing ink out of walnut juice. It was provided by my friend and colleague Benjamin Spick. Enjoy!


WALNUT INK

In a glass jar, place approximately 4 – 5 tablespoons of black walnut hull, crushed (I eye-balled this measurement; it’s the equivalent of two walnut hulls).
Pour ½ cup of boiling water over the hulls; screw on jar lid tightly, and let the infusion steep overnight. In the morning, pour through a coffee filter into a new jar. Let all liquid drain; discard the hulls and filter.
Add two teaspoons of gum arabic powder to the infusion. Screw lid on tightly, and shake to blend. Let settle. Ink is now ready to use. Color will be a medium brown.
NOTE: Black walnut infusion WILL permanently stain clothing and countertops, though it washes out of metal and glass just fine. Work on a surface you can clean. You may substitute walnut hull for black tea (I have not tried this, but I adapted this recipe from one that originally used black tea instead of walnut hulls; I don’t know what color value tea-ink would have in relation to walnut ink).
SUPPLIES:
•    Black Walnut. If you cannot obtain walnut hulls yourself (I used ones I gathered from my yard), you can purchase them from herbal supply companies. Frontier Natural Products Co-op (http://www.frontiercoop.com/) sells crushed hulls; Mountain Rose Herbs (http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/) sells hulls in powder form.
•    Gum Arabic (also sold as Acacia Powder) can also be bought from herbal supply companies. After doing some comparison, Mountain Rose Herbs seems to be the cheapest.