The story of the hazelnut is one of a star-quality character too often relegated to a supporting role. Born a humble filbert, it sheds its frilly coat and assumes a more glamorous stage name, arriving on the scene with European flair. Yet, time and time again, the hazelnut is cast in a secondary part.
Think about it. When did you last taste a hazelnut on its own? The marketing team behind Nutella has been so successful in their efforts to share this Italian spread with the world that we have nearly forgotten that hazelnuts exist separately from chocolate.
As a filbert fan myself, I’m here to make the argument that these nuts deserve their moment in the spotlight. And there is no one better equipped to prove this point than MaryClair Birkemeier Stehman, a third-generation hazelnut farmer.
Stehman grew up at Meridian Orchards, her family’s farm in Clackamas County, Oregon, about a half hour south of Portland. This area of the Pacific Northwest is known for being one of the United States’ most significant wine regions, but more than just grapes grow there — the Willamette Valley produces 99 percent of American hazelnuts.
Stehman’s farm is by no means the only game in town when it comes to growing hazelnuts, but they have set themselves apart in other ways. Meridian Orchards is the oldest certified-organic hazelnut orchard in the country and they have spent six decades optimizing the production process to preserve quality. What I learn from Stehman is that in order to fully appreciate hazelnuts, we must first understand a couple things about seasonality and storage.
The harvest begins each year in the third week of September. “We harvest in the morning, then clean and dry in the afternoon the same day,” says Stehman. This is possible only because the farm has invested in all of the equipment necessary to do so — most growers send their nuts to a shared facility. “Unfortunately, these facilities bottleneck at harvest,” Stehman says. “The nuts can sit for months, which dramatically drives up the mold and rancidity levels.”
It follows that when you’re buying hazelnuts, it’s important to keep an eye out for packaging that lists the harvest date. This is the case for Meridian Orchards products, which include raw and roasted hazelnuts, nut butters, and trail mixes, all of which are sold online through a local distributor. Since the oils in hazelnuts are highly sensitive, make sure to store any hazelnut products in the refrigerator, rather than the pantry, where they will spoil within a few months.
When it comes to enjoying the hazelnuts, Stehman points out the different qualities of raw versus roasted. While she likes the “chewy, sweet, milky, mild” characteristics of the nuts “when you crack them fresh out of the field,” she believes “the darker the better” when it comes to roasting. “They become rich and classically hazelnutty with a strong aroma and flavor profile with almost caramel and chocolate undertones,” Stehman says.
Stehman leans into these sweet tasting notes as inspiration for her favorite baked goods. “I love using ground hazelnuts as a crust,” she says. “Just mix with sugar and butter and a little egg until it’s a nice texture to press into the bottom of a pie pan.” She also often uses ground hazelnuts as the base for a quick cookie dough made with eggs, vanilla, sugar, and salt. Both recipes are naturally gluten-free.
Risa Lichtman, a Portland-based private chef and caterer, sources Meridian Orchards hazelnuts for her baking needs, too. “I like to sprinkle candied hazelnuts over slices of cake for dessert courses,” Lichtman says. “They can also be added to cookies or an oat-based crumble topping for a little extra crunch.”
But Lichtman has become especially well-known for their use of hazelnuts in savory dishes and, in particular, for their hazelnut dukkah made with coriander, cumin, and sesame seeds. “Dukkah is an Egyptian spice blend that combines different nuts, seeds and spices for a super flavorful, sprinkle-able condiment,” Lichtman explains. “It is traditionally served with bread and olive oil.”
Lichtman created their hazelnut dukkah when they were making a dish for the annual Good Food Awards in partnership with the Oregon Organic Coalition. “With hazelnuts as the inspiration, I made a small bite featuring Starter bread toast, Briar Rose fromage blanc, a lemony herb sauce, and microgreens, with the hazelnut dukkah on top,” Licthman says.
“I love to use hazelnut dukkah to finish many of my composed salads,” she adds, referencing a light little gems mixed with vinaigrette, as well as heartier plates of harissa roasted carrots or seasonal grilled vegetables with labneh or whipped feta.
Hazelnuts are a beloved ingredient in one of the signature dishes on the menu at G-Love in Portland. “We call them Black Hazelnuts,” says chef Garrett Benedict. “We toast beautiful Oregon hazelnuts until they are golden brown and perfect. Then — this is where it gets really cool — we candy them using black lime, black lemon, and black mandarin powders that we make in-house. We take fresh citrus and bake them in an oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for three days, until they are completely charred. We then make a sugar syrup, add the toasted hazelnuts along with the black citrus powders and candy them. The end result is unbelievable, nutty, fruity, intensely aromatic.” The hazelnuts are then served on their own, as a salad component, or with sweet herbs like basil, tarragon, and mint.
The Black Hazelnuts will also occasionally make their way onto the restaurant’s dessert menu, alongside a hazelnut semifreddo. Benedict employs the nuts in a variety of other savory dishes, too, such as a pine nut substitute in the restaurant’s pesto and in hazelnut salsa macha for roasted pork or beef.
Lichtman likewise advocates for using hazelnuts to add flavor and texture to meat dishes: “Try coating a tuna steak or lamb chop with hazelnut dukkah and then searing it off so it gets a nice and toasty crust.”
And for a fast and easy approach to fish, Stehman recommends “salmon, with a thin layer of honey or maple syrup, a sprinkle of salt, and then a layer of fresh ground roasted hazelnuts.”
Next time you find yourself with a hankering for hazelnuts, take a cue from this filbert farmer and other Oregon natives – skip the chocolatey spread and embrace the versatility of this underappreciated nut. Whole, halved, coarsely chopped, or finely pulverized, the hazelnut is suited to star in a dazzling array of roles on the sweet to savory spectrum.
Elena Valeriote is a writer of stories about food, farming, culture, and travel that explore the connection between people and place. Her work has appeared in publications including Gastro Obscura, Modern Farmer, and Life & Thyme.
Dilek Baykara is a Turkish-American illustrator, print designer, and adventurous gastronome living in Brooklyn, New York.
