How to chop hazelnuts: tips

Rich in vitamins, valuable fats and protein, hazelnuts can be found on the shelves in several forms today. Hazelnuts are sold unpeeled in shells, kernels, raw peeled, and also fried. Inshell nuts are cheaper because there is no cost to process them and they are stored longer. Therefore, from the point of view of the buyer, this is a very profitable acquisition.

Buying without overpayment an environmentally friendly hazelnut, which retains all its useful properties and a fragrant characteristic aroma, the buyer faces only one drawback: you need to spend more time processing the nuts and make some effort for this.

How to carefully remove the shell from hazelnuts

When you need to get whole beautiful kernels, for example, to decorate dishes, you need to remove the shell carefully. Not everyone in the kitchen has an electric nutcracker, and the manual mechanism for walnuts may not be able to cope with hazelnuts, since there is no seam in the shell of this nut.

Two tools can come to the rescue: a clamp and an impact hammer. As a clamp you can use:

• walnut cracker;
• garlic squeezer;
• pliers;
• kitchen tongs;
• vice of a manual meat grinder and similar improvised means.

Lock the nut in a vise, focus on a hard surface - best of all on a wooden cutting board placed on the table. After that, apply a light accurate blow to the nut. The shell should crack easily.

Here are a few secrets on how to peel a hazelnut shell and not damage the kernel:

1. Work with each nut individually. It will take more time, but the seeds will definitely remain unharmed.
2. Use a towel, bag or napkin so that the shell does not fly apart and the pressure on the nut is soft.
3. Use caution so that shell fragments do not damage the core.

How to quickly chop hazelnuts

If the integrity of the cores is not very important, and the processing time is short, there is a quick way. Fold the nuts in a linen bag or put on a half of a spread towel - and cover the nuts with the second part of the canvas. Using a hammer, quickly apply many blows, stopping periodically to feel the contents with your hand. Whole shells are usually palpable - then you need to continue to break them.

After this, the nuts must be carefully sorted out, removing even small fragments of the shell. With this method, some cores may break or crumble.

What to do if you can’t crack a hazelnut

Heat treatment helps soften the nutshell. Boil water and boil the nuts for 10 minutes, then let them cool for about 20 minutes. After cooking, the shell should become less rigid and give in to impact even without a hammer - it will be enough to slightly squeeze the nut cracker or pliers in the hand.

You can also hold nuts in the oven or coals, if it comes to your own home.

Alternative methods

When there is no specific tool at hand, and you still need to get the nutritional kernels, you can resort to other methods. Someone is using a door leaf to crack a nut. To do this, the fruit is laid between the door frame and the canvas - and attract the door, acting on the nut. For safety, hygiene and to preserve the decorative coating of the doors, you need to use a towel as a cover.

There is a “field” option - use 2 bricks, slabs or wooden beams.Nuts are put in a bag, placed on a hard surface and crushed on top with a heavy layer. Next, you need to put extra pressure. You can press on the press with your foot or sit on top.

Hazelnut Storage

The natural shell helps preserve the beneficial properties of the nut and prolong its freshness. A peeled nut, on the contrary, dries out and loses its pleasant aroma. Therefore, it is better to store hazelnuts in the shell and do not clean in advance. However, if you bought a peeled nut or polished more than required, then the bare kernels will remain dried longer. To do this, bake nuts in the oven or fry in a dry frying pan until golden brown until a spicy, pleasant aroma goes.

It is advisable to store finished nuts in a tightly closed jar, without air. Better to eat it will be dark glass. Avoid direct sunlight on the product.

Video: how to peel hazelnuts