Nuts

Hazelnut

Hazelnuts are the sweet, aromatic nuts of Corylus shrubs and trees—especially C. avellana— grown across Europe and western Asia and, in modern volume, in Turkey, Italy, and Oregon. Roasted, they bloom a toasty perfume that pairs classically with chocolate; raw, the thin brown skin is more tannic and the flavour quieter. High oil content makes them fragrant in the pan and fragile in warm storage, especially after roasting. Cooks meet them in gianduja, praline, baklava, cakes, spreads, Dukkah-style mixes, and cold-pressed finishing oils. Many pastry formulas roast and rub to loosen skins for cleaner pastes; skin-on stock suits rustic snacks and some savoury work. Roast only to pale gold— darker trays turn bitter and greasy on the surface. Freeze what you will not use soon. Quality kernels smell sweet and nutty; rancid ones smell of paint. It is a major tree-nut allergen. Compared with almond, hazelnut is more aromatic and chocolate-leaning; compared with walnut it is sweeter and less tannic-bitter when fresh.