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How to Prepare & Peel Hazelnuts

To enjoy hazelnuts creamy and buttery flavor, the bitter skin from the hazelnuts should be removed and the nuts lightly toasted before using in most of your baking and cooking recipes.

Buying hazelnuts already peeled is generally 50% more expensive than buying them with their skins on. So save yourself some money and learn how to do it at home.

There are two ways you can remove the skins from hazelnuts, roasting or blanching. There are pros and cons to each method, and which you choose ultimately depends upon what you’re needing the nuts for.

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Roasting

Whole nuts are placed on a baking sheet in a single layer and baked for 10-15 minutes at 375°F, or until the skins start to split. Although take care, over-toasting the nuts will make them bitter.

Turn the hot nuts onto a clean dry dish towel, wrap them up and let sit. After 10 minutes, vigorously rub the nuts against each other through the towel to remove the skins (be sure to use an old towel, as the skins may stain).

This method can take a while to remove all the skins, and even then not all the skins will be removed. As well, the nuts are more likely to be split in half due to the hard rubbing you need to do to get the skins off. So if you need the nuts to be whole for a recipe, this may not be the best method.

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CranberryHazelnutBark3

Blanching

In a large pot, for every 1/2 cup of hazelnuts, bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the nuts along with 2 Tbsp of baking soda – take care it will bubble up!

Baking soda is added because the chemical reaction that creates all those tiny gas bubbles gets under the nuts’ skin causing the skins to easily and quickly split.

Boil for 3 minutes then remove one nut and run it under cold water. If the skin rubs off easily they are ready, if not boil another minute and check again.

Drain the nuts in a colander and run under cold water. With your fingers or rubber gloves (gives better grip) rub the skins off. You can also place the drained nuts on a clean towel and rub with a clean dish towel to remove the skins, but this will most certainly stain the towel, and the clean up is a bit messier.HowPeelHazelnut6

Once all the skins are removed, the nuts must be toasted for 10-15 minutes at 375°F, until light golden in color. HowPeelHazelnut7

So Which Method is Better?

Roast the nuts to remove the skins if you are short on time, and the recipe you’re needing them for won’t be affected in taste, color or texture if little bits of the nuts’ bitter skin is included. Like in our Hazelnut Streusel – where the sweetness of the cake is balanced with the bitter bits from the hazelnut skin.  HazelnutStueselCupcakes1

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How To Make Chocolate Curls

However if you need all traces of the skin removed, and only want the white creamy buttery taste and texture of the hazelnuts to be highlighted in your recipe, then it is well worth the extra time and steps to blanch them.

CranberryHazelnutBark1 For our Cranberry & Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Bark, you don’t want any bitterness from the nuts taking away from what little sweetness the cranberries and dark chocolate impart, so blanching is the best method in those circumstances.

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How to Peel Hazelnuts

Marla Hingley

Ingredients
  

  • Hazelnuts
  • Water
  • 2 Tbsp Baking Soda

Instructions
 

  • Roasting - Whole nuts are placed on a baking sheet in a single layer and baked for about 10 minutes at 375°F, or until the skins start to split. Although take care, over-toasting the nuts will turn them bitter.
  • Turn the hot nuts onto a clean dry dish towel, wrap them up and let them sit. After 10 minutes, vigorously rub the nuts against each other through the towel to remove the skins (be sure to use an old towel, as the skins may stain). This method can take a while to remove all the skins, and even then not all the skins may be removed.
  • Blanching - In a large pot, for every 1/2 cup of hazelnuts, bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the nuts along with 2 Tbsp of baking soda – take care it will bubbly up! Baking soda is added because the chemical reaction that creates all those tiny bubbles gets under the nuts’ skin causing the skin to easily split.
  • Boil for 3 minutes then remove one nut and run it under cold water. If the skin rubs off easily they are ready, if not boil another minute or so. Drain the nuts in a colander and run under cold water. With your fingers or rubber gloves (gives better grip), rub the skins off. You can also place the drained nuts on a clean towel and rub with the towel to remove the skins, but this will most certainly stain the towel).
  • Once all the skins are removed, the nuts must be toasted for about 10-15 minutes at 375°F until light golden in color.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
See also
5 Simple Steps to Tender and Flavorful Meatballs

 

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