As a spread or wrapped in chocolate, they are in season all year round – in Advent there is another use: Hazelnuts are chopped or grated into crispy busses or fragrant “house friends” with raisins, aranzini and sour barberries.
High fat content
Nutritionist Eva Fauma knows the advantages and disadvantages of the hazelnut fruit: “It contains 60 percent hazelnut oil. The high proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids is said to have a lipid-lowering and antioxidant effect to prevent cardiovascular diseases.” Disadvantage of the high fat content: 100 grams contain a whopping 600 calories. The nuts therefore also go rancid faster than others. For this reason, you should always keep them cool and dry.
“Peeled or grated hazelnuts are easy to freeze for a long time,” says Fauma. Nuts in their shells can be stored in the cellar for a few months. But cracking it requires a lot of time and effort. Proteins, vitamin E, niacin and the minerals magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, calcium and zinc make the nut a local superfood. But be careful: if you would like to have regional goods, you have to look for something. Because a large part of world production comes from Turkey.
Fauma also likes to use hazelnuts in her cooking courses: “I roast roughly chopped nuts briefly without fat and give them lukewarm over my winter salads or I use the grated nuts to thicken soups and sauces.” Her hazelnut liqueur is also an absolute hit among friends. As a breading for fish, meat and vegetables, as an enhancement to bread flour and as a snack, the food can make a significant contribution to healthy nutrition.
In traditional European medicine, a tea made from the hazel kitten is drunk when the circulation is weak – and to strengthen the immune system. It also helps with colds and tiredness in spring.
Allergy potential
Botanically, the common hazel belongs to the birch family. It is very close to the early flowering shrubs such as birch and alder and cross-reactions can occur. In some allergy sufferers, the nut can lead to serious symptoms such as shortness of breath and must therefore be completely removed from the menu of those affected.
Hazel bush
The young leaves the hazel can be eaten as a salad or chopped in herbal salt. They are also suitable for stuffing – like grape leaves – and have a tart, gently nutty aroma. The young leaves are also suitable for brewing tea, ideally with the fresh kittens, which give off a particularly fine note. They can be integrated into the kitchen just as easily as the nuts in autumn.
The whips of the hazel can be processed into wicker fences, carpet knockers and basket hangers. Fully grown branches are suitable for walking sticks, crossbow bows and, if necessary, for a magic wand in Mardi Gras. The hazel branch is said to have the ability to let energy flow. It used to be used as a magic wand and part of flying witch brooms, hence its popular name: witch bush.
Source: Nachrichten
