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The hazelnut is the
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''
Corylus avellana ''Corylus avellana'', the common hazel, is a species of flowering plant in the birch tree, birch family Betulaceae. The shrubs usually grow tall. The nut is round, in contrast to the longer Corylus maxima, filbert nut. Common hazel is native to E ...
''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according to species. Hazelnuts are used as a
snack A snack is a small portion of Human food, food generally Eating, eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including Food packaging, packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at ho ...
food, in baking and desserts, and in breakfast cereals such as
muesli Muesli ( ) is a cold Swiss cuisine, Swiss breakfast dish, the primary ingredient of which is rolled oats. Traditionally, it is set to soak in water overnight ("overnight oats") and eaten the next morning with fresh fruit, nuts, lemon juice, and ...
. In
confectionery Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...
, they are used to make praline, and also used in combination with
chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...
for
chocolate truffle A chocolate truffle is a French chocolate confectionery traditionally made with a chocolate ganache center and coated in cocoa powder, coconut, or chopped nuts. A chocolate truffle is handrolled into a spherical or ball shape. The name der ...
s and products such as chocolate bars and hazelnut cocoa spreads such as
Nutella Nutella ( , , ; stylized in all lowercase) is a brand of brown, sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread. Nutella is manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero and was introduced in 1964, although its first iteration dates to 1963. History Pietro ...
. They are also used in Frangelico liqueur. Hazelnut oil, pressed from hazelnuts, is strongly flavored and high in monounsaturated fat. It is used as a cooking oil and as a salad or vegetable dressing.
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
is the world's largest producer of hazelnuts, accounting for 58% of total production in 2023.


Description

A hazelnut cob is roughly spherical to oval, about long and in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell, while a filbert is more elongated, being about twice as long as its diameter. The nut falls out of the husk when ripe, about seven to eight months after pollination. The
seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...
is edible and consumed raw, roasted or ground into a paste. The seed has a thin, dark brown skin, which is sometimes removed before cooking.


Cultivation


History

In 1995, evidence of large-scale
Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...
nut processing, some 8,000 years old, was found in a midden pit on the island of Colonsay in Scotland. The evidence consists of a large, shallow pit full of the remains of hundreds of thousands of burned hazelnut shells. Hazelnuts have been found on other Mesolithic sites, but rarely in such quantities or concentrated in one pit. The nuts were radiocarbon dated to 7720±110 BP, which calibrates to . Similar sites in Britain are known only at
Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...
in
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
and Cass ny Hawin on the
Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
."Mesolithic food industry on Colonsay"
(Dec 1995) ''British Archaeology''. No. 5. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
Moffat, Alistair (2005) ''Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History''. London. Thames & Hudson. p. 91–2. This discovery gives an insight into communal activity and planning in the period. The nuts were harvested in a single year, and pollen analysis suggests that all of the hazel trees were cut down at the same time. The scale of the activity and the lack of large game on the island suggest that Colonsay may have contained a community with a largely vegetarian diet for the time they spent on the island. Originally, the pit was on a beach close to the shore and was associated with two smaller, stone-lined pits whose function remains obscure, a hearth and a second cluster of pits. The traditional method to increase nut production is called ''brutting'', which involves prompting more of the tree's energy to go into flower bud production by snapping, but not breaking off, the tips of the new year shoots six or seven leaf groups from where they join with the trunk or branch, at the end of the growing season. The traditional term for an area of cultivated hazelnuts is a ''plat''.


Cultivars

The many
cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...
s of the hazel include 'Atababa', 'Barcelona', 'Butler', 'Casina', 'Clark', 'Cosford', 'Daviana', 'Delle Langhe', 'England', 'Ennis', 'Halls Giant', 'Jemtegaard', 'Kent Cob', 'Lewis', 'Tokolyi', 'Tonda Gentile', 'Tonda di Giffoni', 'Tonda Romana', 'Wanliss Pride', and 'Willamette'.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan . Some of these are grown for specific qualities of the nut, including large nut size or early or late fruiting, whereas others are grown as pollinators. The majority of commercial hazelnuts are propagated from root sprouts. Some cultivars are of hybrid origin between common hazel and filbert.Flora of NW Europe
''Corylus avellana''
In Ireland and the United Kingdom, hazelnuts are sometimes referred to as cobnuts, for which a specific cultivated variety – Kentish cobnuts – is the main variety cultivated in fields known as plats, hand-picked, and eaten green. According to the BBC, a national collection of cobnut varieties exists at Roughway Farm, near Plaxtol in Kent. They are called cobnuts because cob was a word used to refer to the head or "noggin,” and children had a game in which they would tie a string to a hazelnut and use it to try to hit an opponent on the head.


Cropping system

In Europe hazelnuts are traditionally grown as multi-trunk trees where the rootstock is formed by the variety itself. To enhance the possibility for mechanization and to prevent suckering, a single-trunk tree can be formed by
grafting Grafting or graftage is a horticulture, horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the roots ...
a scion of the desired variety on a '' Corylus colurna'' rootstock. There are different approaches in orchard floor management. Strong infestations of certain weeds can lower the yield. Therefore, to prevent yield loss by competition, herbicides are used to create bare soil. Using cover crops protects the soil and suppresses weed establishment without a yield reduction. Silvopastoral systems where animals like
pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...
are kept in the orchard or silvoarable systems where crops are grown between the rows could introduce new sources of revenue into the hazelnut production and may have beneficial effects on hazelnut yield by fertilizing the soil through nitrogen fixation or animal dung. These systems limit the plant protection measures, potentially impacting the yield quality and level. There are very few studies on these systems, leading to a higher uncertainty for the producer.


Harvesting

Hazelnuts are harvested annually in mid-autumn. As autumn comes to a close, the trees drop their nuts and leaves. Most commercial growers wait for the nuts to drop rather than using equipment to shake them from the tree. The harvesting of hazelnuts is performed either by hand or by manual or mechanical raking of fallen nuts. Four primary pieces of equipment are used in commercial harvesting: the sweeper, the harvester, the nut cart, and the forklift. The sweeper moves the nuts into the center of the rows, the harvester lifts and separates the nuts from any debris (i.e., twigs and leaves), the nut cart holds the nuts picked up by the harvester, and the forklift brings a tote to offload the nuts from the nut cart and then stacks the totes to be shipped to the processor (nut dryer). The sweeper is a low-to-the-ground machine that makes two passes in each tree row. It has a belt attached to the front that rotates to sweep leaves, nuts, and small twigs from left to right, depositing the material in the center of the row as it drives forward. On the rear of the sweeper is a powerful blower to blow material left into the adjacent row with air speeds up to . Careful grooming during the year and patient blowing at harvest may eliminate the need for hand raking around the tree trunk, where nuts may accumulate. The sweeper prepares a single center row of nuts, narrow enough for the harvesting tractor to drive over without driving on the center row. It is best to sweep only a few rows ahead of the harvesters at any given time, to prevent the tractor that drives the harvester from crushing the nuts that may still be falling from the trees. Hazelnut orchards may be harvested up to three times during the harvest season, depending on the number of nuts in the trees and the rate of nut drop due to the weather. The harvester is a slow-moving machine pushed by a tractor, which lifts the material off the ground and separates the nuts from the leaves, empty husks, and twigs. As the harvester drives over the rows, a rotating cylinder with hundreds of tines rakes the material onto a belt. The belt takes the material over a blower and under a powerful vacuum that sucks any lightweight soil, leaves from the nuts, and discharges them into the orchard. The remaining nuts are conveyed into a cart pulled behind the harvester. Once a tote is filled with nuts, the forklift hauls away the full totes and brings empty ones back to the harvester to maximize the harvester's time. Two different timing strategies are used for collecting the fallen nuts. The first is to harvest early when about half of the nuts have fallen. With less material on the ground, the harvester can work faster with less chance of a breakdown. The second option is to wait for all the nuts to fall before harvesting. Although the first option is considered the better of the two, two or three passes do take more time to complete than one.


Production

In 2023, world production of hazelnuts (in shells) was 1.13 million
tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000  kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...
s led by Turkey with 58% of the total, and Italy and the United States as other major producers (table).


Food

Hazelnuts are used in confections to make pralines,
chocolate truffle A chocolate truffle is a French chocolate confectionery traditionally made with a chocolate ganache center and coated in cocoa powder, coconut, or chopped nuts. A chocolate truffle is handrolled into a spherical or ball shape. The name der ...
s, and hazelnut paste products including nougat. The combination of ground hazelnuts with chocolate developed around
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, is called ; with finer pulverization of the hazelnuts, this subsequently developed into and
Nutella Nutella ( , , ; stylized in all lowercase) is a brand of brown, sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread. Nutella is manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero and was introduced in 1964, although its first iteration dates to 1963. History Pietro ...
. In
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, hazelnut paste is an ingredient for making tortes, such as Viennese hazelnut torte. In Kyiv cake, hazelnut flour is used to flavor its meringue body, and crushed hazelnuts are sprinkled over its sides. '' Dacquoise'', a French dessert cake, often contains a layer of hazelnut meringue. Hazelnuts are used in Turkish cuisine and Georgian cuisine; the
snack A snack is a small portion of Human food, food generally Eating, eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including Food packaging, packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at ho ...
'' churchkhela'' and sauce '' satsivi'' are used, often with
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...
s. Hazelnuts are also a common constituent of
muesli Muesli ( ) is a cold Swiss cuisine, Swiss breakfast dish, the primary ingredient of which is rolled oats. Traditionally, it is set to soak in water overnight ("overnight oats") and eaten the next morning with fresh fruit, nuts, lemon juice, and ...
. The nuts may be eaten fresh or dried, having different flavors.


Nutrition

Raw hazelnuts are 5% water, 61% fat, 17%
carbohydrate A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ...
s, and 15%
protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...
(table). In a reference amount, raw hazelnuts supply of
food energy Food energy is chemical energy that animals and humans derive from food to sustain their metabolism and muscular activity. Most animals derive most of their energy from aerobic respiration, namely combining the carbohydrates, fats, and protein ...
and are a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of numerous essential nutrients (see table). Hazelnuts contain particularly high amounts of
protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...
,
dietary fiber Dietary fiber (fibre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical co ...
,
vitamin E Vitamin E is a group of eight compounds related in molecular structure that includes four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. The tocopherols function as fat-soluble antioxidants which may help protect cell membranes from reactive oxygen speci ...
,
iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
, thiamin,
phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...
,
manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...
, and
magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...
, all exceeding 30% DV (table). Several B vitamins have appreciable content. In lesser but still significant amounts (moderate content, 10–19% DV) are
vitamin K Vitamin K is a family of structurally similar, fat-soluble vitamers found in foods and marketed as dietary supplements. The human body requires vitamin K for post-translational modification, post-synthesis modification of certain proteins ...
,
calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...
,
zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...
, and
potassium Potassium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol K (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number19. It is a silvery white metal that is soft enough to easily cut with a knife. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmospheric oxygen to ...
(table). Hazelnuts are a rich source of dietary fat, accounting for 93% DV in a 100-gram amount. The fat components are monounsaturated fat as
oleic acid Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish due to the presence of impurities. In chemical terms, oleic acid is cl ...
(75% of total), polyunsaturated fat mainly as linoleic acid (13% of total), and saturated fat, mainly as
palmitic acid Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and microorganisms.Gunstone, F. D., John L. Harwood, and Albert J. Dijkstra. The ...
and
stearic acid Stearic acid ( , ) is a saturated fatty acid with an 18-carbon chain. The IUPAC name is octadecanoic acid. It is a soft waxy solid with the formula . The triglyceride derived from three molecules of stearic acid is called stearin. Stearic acid ...
(together, 7% of total).


In culture

The hazelnut is used as a literary device by Julian of Norwich (c. 1343 – after 1416) within her mystical Christian treatise '' Revelations of Divine Love''. The hazelnut shell is imagined as a chariot for the fairy Queen Mab within English playwright and poet William Shakespeare's play ''
Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
''. The hazel fruit is also used as a metaphorical device in the poem '' To Autumn'' by the English Romantic poet John Keats.


Gallery

File:SmokedHazelnuts (8364526026).jpg, Dehulled, skinned, and smoked hazelnuts File:Piccilliatti, Sicilia.JPG, Piccillatti, typical biscuits made with hazelnuts,
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
File:Cocola Bakery Hazelnut Cake (17733558344).jpg, Hazelnut cake File:Chocolate Ganache Pie With Hazelnut Crust.jpg, Chocolate pie with hazelnut crust File:Tasty Hazelnut (15644892593).jpg, Red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris'') eating a hazelnut,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...


See also

* Filbertone, the principal flavor compound of hazelnuts * Frangelico * List of hazelnut diseases * The Hazelnut Child


References


External links

* * {{Authority control * Corylus Crops originating from Europe Edible nuts and seeds de:Haselnuss#Nüsse pt:Avelã