Hazelnuts,
filberts, or cobnuts; this grape-sized, acorn-shaped nut grows in temperate
climates like Turkey, Italy, Spain and the Northwest United States.
Enclosed in a brown shell, a dark brown,
bitter, papery skin covers the ivory-colored meat. To remove the bitter skin of
the nut, toast them in a 350 degree F (180 degree C) oven for 15 minutes or
until fragrant and the skins begin to flake. Remove from oven and place the hot
nuts in a dish towel. Roll up the towel and let the nuts sit (steam) for a few
minutes then rub the nuts in the towel briskly to remove the skins. Let cool
before using. Toasting the nuts not only removes the bitter skins but also
enhances the sweet, rich, buttery flavor of the nut.
The shelled nuts are sold whole,
skinned or unskinned, chopped or finely ground and come in various grades and
sizes.
Hazelnuts are used in making cakes,
cookies, pastries, candies and their flavor complements that of chocolate. Also
used to make pastes and oils.
Their high oil content causes them to
turn rancid quickly so store them in the refrigerator (4 months) or freezer (one
year) in airtight containers or plastic bags.
Machine
Translations are provided by an automated service and the accuracy of the
translations are not up to the standards of human translation. Machine
translations are provided for use by people with little or no English
skills. We recommend that people proficient in English use the English pages
rather then the machine translated pages.
Use of materials on Joyofbaking.com is
entirely at the risk of the user and Joyofbaking.com, Stephanie Jaworski or
Rick Jaworski
will not be responsible for any damages directly or indirectly resulting
from the use.
This
website and the contents are not endorsed or sponsored by the owner
of the "Joy of Cooking" series of books or its publisher Simon & Schuster,
Inc.
Content in any form may
not be copied or used without written permission of Stephanie Jaworski,
Joyofbaking.com. Students and non profit educators may use content without
permission with proper credit.