Thanks for this! Glad to know you can make and enjoy pickled walnuts without the sugar. Every other recipe asks for 50/50 sugar and vinegar. Never had them before, but not a big fan myself of sweet pickles, so I'm going to try one batch sugared, and one as you've made. Cheers!
I was wondering about the sugar as well. I made these this year and I followed one of the 50/50 sugar/vinegar recipes. I just opened a jar past weekend and they are delicious. I like everything sweet and sour anyway so they are perfect for me. I imagine I would find the no sugar version quite harsh but to each their own. The recipe I followed also included another step, where after taking them out of the brine, they are left to dry out for 2 days, which makes them completely black. Not sure how important that is but I did do it.