Hazelnuts are one of my favourite nuts. I decided to start planting and collecting my toasted almonds because the creamy texture is so amazing.
Harvesting is also a breeze! It’s important to know how to harvest shrubs and trees, whether you grow them yourself or find them in the wild.
Continue reading to learn how to harvest and preserve hazelnuts, as well as some recipe ideas.
What Kind Of Plant is Hazelnut
We’ve figured out that it’s a shrub. Hazelnuts prefer to live near water, but not directly on riverbanks.
They’re usually found around little streams and along roadsides. On the Pacific Coast, they also grow close to the water’s edge.
They don’t appear to be very impressive. They feature a fairly standard leaf design but keep an eye out for the toothed edges and fuzzy hazel leaves. The leaves also alternate, as shown in the photo.
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The male blooms, known as catkins, can also be seen on the shrub. Grouse and quail, by the way, adore them.
Around the Fourth of July, start looking for unripe nuts. Check them out towards the end of July and the beginning of August.
The nut sheath, referred to as an involucre, should be predominantly green but with areas of colour ranging from rosy red to brown. There are no poisonous look-alikes because nothing else looks like a hazelnut.
Features of Hazelnut
- A mature shrub can reach a height of 15-20 feet and a width of 10-12 feet.
- The hazelnut is a spherical nut with several stems and a wide-spreading base that grows in a rounded shape.
- Hazelnut leaves are slightly hairy and have heart-shaped sides that alternate.
- The hazelnut has two types of blooms, male and female, that grow on the same plant. yellowish-brown male catkins adorn the shrub in the late fall and scaly, green female flowers bloom on it in the spring.
- Smooth brown nuts form in the sticky green and pokey bracts of the flowers, ripening in fall.
The Growing Cycle: An Overview
Hazelnuts are distinctive in that they form buds in the fall and bloom in the late winter or early spring.
The male flowers are long golden catkins, while the female flowers are tiny scarlet threads that develop at the ends of the stems.
Even though each shrub has both male and female flowers, the majority of types require cross-pollination to produce nuts.
It is recommended that you grow at least two different types if you have the space.
Because they are pollinated by the wind, keep them at a distance of no more than 50 feet apart.
Female flowers mature into edible nuts after pollination, turning from green to brown as they mature.
These reach a size of about 1/2 inch. They emerge in clusters of two to five and are enclosed in leaf-like bracts.
When Should You Harvest Hazelnuts?
From the time the trees are planted until they are old enough to yield a harvest, it takes roughly three to five years.
While that may appear to be a lengthy time, other species can take far longer. Pecans, for example, start producing after six to ten years, while almonds might take up to 12 years to yield a good crop.
Expect a tiny crop from your first harvest. The bounty will increase after a few seasons! In one season, a mature tree can produce 25 pounds of nuts, and it will continue to produce for another 50 years.
Depending on your environment, nuts mature from late summer to early October. It’s time to pick them up when they turn brown and begin to fall off the tree.
Harvesting Techniques
Harvesting is a simple process that requires very little effort. You only have to collect the nuts from the ground below because they fall from the tree as they ripen.
Place tarps beneath the trees to catch the leaves as they fall, or simply rake them into a mound.
Foraging For Nuts In The Wild
Look for native hazel shrubs along forest edges and stream banks if you wouldn’t have the space or money to develop your own.
When gathering from natural trees, pick them just as they’re starting to turn brown and bring them home to finish ripening.
Waiting for them to fully ripen and drop will almost certainly result in them being eaten by wild creatures before you can get your hands on them. Simply twist the bunches of nuts to get them off the plant.
Always remember to harvest sustainably, leaving the majority of the bush untouched for wildlife.
Preserving Hazelnuts
After collecting, the nuts must be dried for storage. It is easiest to wait until the clusters are dry to remove the nuts from the bracts.
In a warm, dry spot away from the light, spread them out in a single layer on trays or screens.
They’ll need to be turned every several days until the outer bracts are easily removed. This should take two to four weeks to complete.
After that, they were kept in their shells. You can use a dehydrator set to 90-105°F to speed up the drying process to only one or two days.
They can be kept at room temperature for several months in their shell. Eat them within a few weeks after shelling, or preserve them in the refrigerator for up to a year. Wait until right before use to process them to extend their shelf life.
Hazelnuts Are Delicious
Hazelnuts are a versatile ingredient that may be utilized in a wide variety of recipes and baked items. Their flavour complements both sweet and savoury dishes.
1. Hazelnuts that have been roasted.
One option is to roast hazelnuts. The toasted flavour of the hazelnut is enhanced by dry roasting, which also aids digestion. Roasted hazelnuts can be consumed as a snack or added to salads. Spreads made from hazelnuts. To make a spread, hazelnuts can be ground. The hazelnut spread Nutella is well-known. You can manufacture your own at home, or use ground hazelnuts as a base for ice cream or a dessert.
2. Baked goods with hazelnuts.
Hazelnuts are a versatile ingredient that may be utilized in a variety of baked items. They can be used in place of almonds or pecans in recipes and added to brownies.
Conclusion
Harvesting your hazelnuts, whether you plant your tree or befriend a hazel shrub in the woods behind your house, is likely to be a rewarding experience.
You won’t regret filling your home with the aroma of toasted hazelnuts because they’re not only easy to harvest.
Have you ever harvested a crop on your own? Please share your experiences in the comments section below.
