Various Preparations of Filberts and Hazel-nuts

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Sturdy nutcracker
• •33 x 46 cm rimmed baking sheet
• •Clean rough-weave tea towel
• •Large chef’s knife or food processor

Instructions

1. 1

   Crack and sort

   Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Crack the filberts carefully, keeping the kernels as whole as possible, and suppress every fragment of shell. Sort as you work, discarding any kernel that is shriveled, mold-marked, or smells stale. If you begin with shelled nuts, use about 2 cups (480 ml / 270 g) and start at the next step.

   Taste one sound-looking kernel before warming the batch. Heat can deepen a good nut’s aroma, but it cannot repair rancidity.
2. 2

   Loosen the skins

   Spread the kernels in one uncrowded layer on a dry rimmed baking sheet. Warm them for 8 to 12 minutes, shaking the tray once, until the skins darken slightly, split, and begin lifting from the kernels. The nuts should smell fresh and rounded, with only pale gold showing beneath the skin. This moderate oven replaces the old oven mouth; no oil and no deep roasting are wanted.

3. 3

   Rub them clean

   Tip the warm nuts into the center of a clean, rough tea towel, fold the cloth over them, and rub firmly so the loosened skins flake away. Open the towel, pick out the clean kernels, and repeat. If a stubborn portion still holds its skin, return only those nuts to the oven for 2 minutes and rub again. Ça se rattrape. Do not keep roasting the entire batch merely to chase the final flecks; a little skin left behind is better than a bitter nut.

4. 4

   Cool then chop

   Spread the skinned nuts back on the cool tray and let them cool completely. Leave them whole if a later formula requires whole kernels, or chop with a chef’s knife into even pieces about 2 to 4 mm across for the classical chopped preparation. A food processor may replace the pastry room’s long knife work, but use short pulses and stop often. If the nuts begin clumping as their oils warm, spread them out and chill for 10 minutes, then finish with the knife; ça se rattrape before they become nut paste.

5. 5

   Make the mise-en-place

   Transfer the whole or chopped nuts to airtight containers only when they are fully cool. Any trapped warmth creates condensation and steals their crisp texture. Keep them at cool room temperature for up to 1 week, refrigerate for up to 1 month, or freeze in small portions for up to 3 months. This is the home version of the pastry cook’s permanent Mise-en-place: a modest batch, protected from air, ready when the next formula calls.

Chef Tips

• •Filberts are the larger hazelnuts described in the classical pantry, commonly elongated and wrapped in reddish skin. If your market labels them simply as hazelnuts, use them with confidence; the preparation is the same.
• •Choose shell-on nuts that feel heavy and do not rattle when shaken. A rattling nut has usually dried and pulled away from its shell, which means less flavor before you have even begun.
• •Do not blanch the skins away with water. The dry warming specified here preserves the nut’s concentrated aroma and leaves it ready for pastry without a second drying step.
• •A few reddish flecks are no failure. The aim is to remove loose, papery skin, not to sand every kernel bare at the cost of scorching it.
• •Chopped nuts lose aroma faster than whole ones. For a busy week, chop the full batch as the classical pantry did; for occasional baking, store them whole and chop each portion shortly before use.

Advance Preparation

• •The nuts can be cracked and sorted a day before warming. Keep the raw kernels airtight so they do not absorb kitchen odors.
• •Prepare a full batch several weeks ahead and freeze it in small airtight portions. Measure out only what you need, close the remaining batch promptly, and let the measured portion return to room temperature before using it in delicate pastry work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 27g)