Like most of us, during the Holidays we get an opportunity to go to social gatherings and at most of these are a bowl of mixed nuts. A small round crunchy nut, most of us call it filbert, is usually picked out of the bowl from the others and called our favorite. But have we ever wondered about this wonderful little crunchy nut? Hazelnuts have been harvested in China for at least 4500 years. In the United States, as far as hazelnut production, Oregon is King! About 99 percent of the hazelnuts used in the US today are grown in the state of Oregon. However, that crop of these wonderful nuts only represents about 3 to 5 percent of the world's total harvest. Hazelnuts are primarily grown in the Mediterranean regions of Turkey, Spain, Greece and Italy. Turkey accounts for 70 to 75 percent of the world's total production. Next time you pick out that tiny nut from the sea of other nuts in the bowl, remember you are dealing with one of the oldest cultivated nuts in history!
Chef Johnny
January 21, 2001
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chefjohnny@chefjohnnysproducts.com