A hazelnut is the nut of the hazel and is also known as cobnut or filbert nut ac

cording to species. A cob is roughly spherical to oval, about 1525 mm long and 101
5 mm in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell. A filbe
rt is more elongated, being about twice as long as it is round. The nut falls ou
t of the husk when ripe, about seven to eight months after pollination. The kern
el of the seed is edible and used raw or roasted, or ground into a paste. Hazeln
uts are also used for livestock feed, as are chestnuts and acorns. The seed has
a thin, dark brown skin, which is sometimes removed before cooking.
Hazelnuts are produced in commercial quantities in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Italy, Gr
eece, Georgia, in the south of the Spanish region of Catalonia, in the UK county
of Kent and in the American states of Oregon and Washington. Turkey is the larg
est producer of hazelnuts in the world with approximately 75% of worldwide produ
ction.[1]
Hazelnuts are used in confectionery to make praline, and also used in combinatio
n with chocolate for chocolate truffles and products such as Nutella and Frangel
ico liqueur. Hazelnut oil, pressed from hazelnuts, is strongly flavoured and use
d as a cooking oil.
Hazelnuts are rich in protein and unsaturated fat. Moreover, they contain signif
icant amounts of thiamine and vitamin B6, as well as smaller amounts of other B
vitamins.
Contents [hide]
1 Historical cultivation
2 Modern cultivation
3 Cultivars
4 Turkish hazelnut
5 Harvesting
6 Edible uses
7 Health benefits
8 See also
9 References
10 External links
Historical cultivation[edit]In 1995, evidence of large-scale Mesolithic nut proc
essing, some 9,000 years old, was found in a midden pit on the island of Colonsa
y 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 o
n other Mesolithic sites, but rarely in such quantities or concentrated in one p
it. The nuts were radiocarbon dated to 7720+/-110BP, which calibrates to circa 7
000 BC. Similar sites in Britain are known only at Farnham in Surrey and Cass ny
Hawin on the Isle of Man.[2][3] See also Sruwaddacon Bay, Kilcommon, Erris, Cou
nty Mayo, Ireland.
This discovery gives an insight into communal activity and planning in the perio
d. The nuts were harvested in a single year, and pollen analysis suggests the ha
zel trees were all cut down at the same time.[3] The scale of the activity, unpa
ralleled elsewhere in Scotland, and the lack of large game on the island, sugges
t the possibility that Colonsay contained a community with a largely vegetarian
diet for the time they spent on the island. The pit was originally on a beach cl
ose to the shore, and was associated with two smaller, stone-lined pits whose fu
nction remains obscure, a hearth, and a second cluster of pits.[2]
Because hazelnuts do not generally need to be toasted, indeed Kentish Cobnuts ar
e still traditionally sold fresh, it has been speculated this was done to make t
hem more digestible for children. Toasting the nuts was thought to increase how
long they would keep, and they have historically been a useful food for mariners
because they keep well.
Hazel has been grown historically in coppices for use in wattle and daub buildin
gs, and in hedges. The Romans cultivated hazelnuts including in Britain, althoug
h there is no evidence that they spread specific cultivars. Cultivated varieties
have been grown since at least the 16th century, with a great increase in varie
ties during the 1800s. In particular, the first really widespread cultivar, the
Kentish Cobnut, was introduced in 1830.
The traditional method to increase nut production is called 'brutting', which in
volves prompting more of the trees' energy to go into flower bud production, by
snapping but not breaking off the tips of the new year's shoots six or seven lea
f groups from the join with the trunk or branch, at the end of the growing seaso
n. The traditional term for an area of cultivated hazelnuts is a plat.