Cookbook:Hazelnut
| Hazelnut | |
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| Category | Nuts and seeds |
Cookbook | Recipes | Ingredients | Equipment | Techniques | Cookbook Disambiguation Pages | Ingredients | Nut
Hazelnuts, also called filberts or cobnuts,[1][2] are the nut of the common hazel tree. In some regions, hazelnuts are specifically the wild versions while filberts refer to cultivated varieties.[3][4][5] In other descriptions, filberts are a specific hazelnut species.[6]
Characteristics
[edit | edit source]Hazelnuts with the shell are medium brown and round,[7][8] looking something like a 1–3 cm capless acorn or chestnut.[9] The nut inside is golden, with a thin papery and bitter skin.[10] The flavor of the nut itself varies slightly. When newly matured, in early autumn, hazelnuts have a flavor described as "milky" and sharp. However, later in the fall the flavor develops and sweetens.[3][9] The characteristic hazelnut flavor is due to the compounds filbertone and 1,3-dimethoxybenzene.[6][11] Interestingly, cooking the nuts by dry or wet methods causes a significant increase in the distinctive flavor.[6][11]
Selection and storage
[edit | edit source]The nuts may be sold in the shell or out, blanched, chopped, sliced, or processed into meal.[1][6][7][8] While they keep a little better than some other common shelled nuts,[3] they should still be kept in an airtight container away from light, heat, and moisture. Freezing will extend their lifetime.[10]
Techniques
[edit | edit source]Skinning
[edit | edit source]Because of the skin's bitterness, some people seek to remove it from the nut.[10] The first way is to let the shelled nuts soak for 5 minutes in boiling water with a bit of baking soda (1 tsp/4 g soda per 1 qt/960 ml water), then drain and rub the skins off.[2][3] This method typically gets all of the skin off and leaves the nuts with no browning.[2] The second method has you toast the nuts in the oven until just starting to darken (about 15 minutes at 275°F/135°C), then rub the hot nuts with a towel to remove the skins.[4] This method does not tend to get every last bit of skin off,[2] and it results in a browned flavor.
Use
[edit | edit source]Hazelnut is typically paired with flavors like orange, chocolate, coffee, fall fruits, and caramel.[4][9][12] Whole or ground, it is common in pâtisserie,[10] featuring in such products as linzer dough, cakes, tarts, and more.[2][3] It benefits considerably from roasting,[1] which amplifies its flavor. Roasted hazelnuts are ground with sugar to make hazelnut paste (sometimes called praliné),[9] a product used primarily in pâtisserie for flavoring.[2][4][10] A variety of hazelnut paste processed with chocolate originated in Italy and is called gianduja.[4][9] The nuts may be pressed to make hazelnut oil, an expensive and delicate product like other nut oils.[2][3][10] It should not be used at high heat.
Substitution
[edit | edit source]No other nuts can replicate the flavor of hazelnuts. However, hazelnut meal can be readily substituted by almond meal, which is sometimes more commonly available and similar in all properties except flavor. Indeed, if you wish to modify a recipe to eliminate the hazelnut flavor, just swap in almond meal for the hazelnut.
Recipes
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ a b c Figoni, Paula (2010-11-09). How Baking Works: Exploring the Fundamentals of Baking Science. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-39267-6.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Friberg, Bo (2016-09-13). The Professional Pastry Chef: Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-46629-2.
- ↑ a b c d e f Davidson, Alan (2014-01-01). Jaine, Tom (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199677337.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-967733-7.
- ↑ a b c d e Labensky, Sarah R.; Hause, Alan M.; Martel, Priscilla (2018-01-18). On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary Fundamentals. Pearson. ISBN 978-0-13-444190-0.
- ↑ Kipfer, Barbara Ann (2012-04-11). The Culinarian: A Kitchen Desk Reference. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-544-18603-3.
- ↑ a b c d Van Wyk, Ben-Erik (2014-09-26). Culinary Herbs and Spices of the World. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-09183-9.
- ↑ a b The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) (2015-02-25). Baking and Pastry: Mastering the Art and Craft. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-92865-3.
- ↑ a b The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) (2011-09-13). The Professional Chef. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-42135-2.
- ↑ a b c d e The Chefs of Le Cordon Bleu (2011-12-02). Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking Foundations. Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-1-4390-5713-1.
- ↑ a b c d e f Rinsky, Glenn; Rinsky, Laura Halpin (2008-02-28). The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-00955-0.
- ↑ a b McGee, Harold (2007-03-20). On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-5637-4.
- ↑ Goldstein, Darra (2015-01-01). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199313396.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-931339-6.