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.