About Hazelnuts
The hazelnut (Corylus spp.) is a slow-growing, deciduous tree which produces a delicious nut, packed full of nutrition, in a hard shell. The nut, or kernel, is best eaten soon after cracking.
Hazel trees have special significance in the mythology of several cultures, including that of the Celts, the Norse, and the Romans. They have associations with wisdom, poetry, fertility, and immortality.
OUR HAZELNUT ORCHARD
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Most of our hazelnut trees are now twelve years old. Each one of our 1200 trees was hand-planted in a spade-dug hole. In the first years of its life, each tree was intensively cared for and was hand-weeded and mulched in summer. The suckers were manually pruned two to three times a year.
Our approach to growing is simple. We believe healthy nuts come from healthy trees. No artificial fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides have ever been used on our trees. We lavish care on the trees, and apply compost and compost teas regularly. A striking feature of our orchards is the abundant bird life. This, together with the bountiful insects, tree frogs, and earth worms, provide ample evidence of a healthy ecosystem. |
HARVESTING AND POST-HARVEST
Hazel trees drop their nuts every autumn. This occurs over two to three weeks, and the timing varies according to the cultivar. Our nuts are hand-harvested using mats. Once the nuts are collected, they are taken back to the processing shed for drying. As far as possible we dry our nuts naturally in the sun, but in cool weather we supplement this with gentle wood-fired heating. We believe a slow drying process best maintains the goodness of the nuts. The nuts (still unshelled) are then stored in bins in our processing shed until an order is placed. If stored correctly, hazelnuts-in-shell will be delicious for up to twelve months. |
HEALTH and EATING
Hazelnuts are delicious eaten raw when they are freshly-shelled. You will find that our nuts are very different to others you may have tasted. Being just-shelled makes all the difference to the taste! Hazelnuts are a great source of fibre, vitamin E, and protein. Everything we do is aimed at preserving the nutritional quality of the nuts. This includes our orchard practices, care in harvesting, the slow drying of the nuts post-harvest, and the fact that we will only shell your nuts when you place your order. From raw, shelled hazelnuts we also produce delicious cold-pressed hazelnut oil. |
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