Roasted White Hazelnuts

Hazelnuts are often imported from Turkey. Turkey produces around 80% of total world production. Other hazelnut-producing countries are Italy and Spain.

Hazelnuts are the fruits of a large shrub known as the hazel. This bush grows three to five metres tall. It only bears its first fruits after ten years. The hazelnuts are 1.5 to 2 cm in size and egg-shaped. They sit inside a round, dark brown, hard shell. Unlike other nut trees, the hazel does not bear large flowers in spring. The blossom consists of small buds from which two or three hazelnuts grow.

The nuts are only cracked and cleaned just before processing. They are then sorted by size. Further processing may include roasting, blanching or grinding.