How to Blanch Hazelnuts
Learning how to blanch hazelnuts can save you money from having to buy blanched nuts from the grocery store. Blanching hazelnuts makes a smoother, creamier nutty flavor to your baked goods.
What is blanching?
Blanching is just cooking a food in boiling water so that it gets scaled and then taken out and plunged into ice water to stop the cooking process. After blanching, the food can be cooked, frozen, canned, or dried.
For hazelnuts, blanching makes the skin easier to peel. The hazelnut peel has a bitter taste, so cooking with an unblanched nut can destroy a recipe.
How To Blanch Hazelnuts
The blanching process is fairly simple. Most people have heard of the towel method, but that can get quite messy. There is a better way to get the pesky skins off.
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole hazelnuts
- 3 tablespoons baking soda
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 cups cold water
- 1 cup ice
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Directions
- In a large, deep pot, boil the water. Once boiling, slowly add in the baking soda to your pot of water.
- Add the cup of hazelnuts and boil for 3-4 minutes. During this, place the ice into a bowl of the 2 cups water.
- Remove the hazelnuts using a slotted spoon. Bring the hazelnuts immediately into the bowl of ice water.
- Try and remove the skins, if still tough, boil for another minute or two. Then place back into the ice water. Let soak for 15-25 minutes.
- After soaking, remove from ice water using the slotted spoon and place the hazelnuts in a clean tea towel and rub together to remove the bitter skin.
How to Store Blanched Hazelnuts
- Dry hazelnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet or something similar.
- After hazelnuts have dried, store in a cool and dry container for up to 3 months.
How to Use Blanched Hazelnuts
After the nuts have cooled completely, you can chop, grind, freeze, or toast them. Use hazelnuts in baking or any other cooking that you would like some nutty goodness added to.
Hazelnut Recipes
Dark Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies
Health Benefits of Hazelnuts
Assuming there is no allergies to hazelnuts, you can get so many nutrients from hazelnuts. Vitamins, minerals, and antioxidant compounds are loaded into this making it one of the healthiest nut out there.
Hazelnuts are a healthy fat that helps to regulate blood pressure, reduce inflammation, and improve blood sugar with the added benefit of vitamin e and omega-3’s.
It only takes a little research to see that this nut is one of the first things your should grab if you are looking to improve your heart health or reduce your cancer risk.
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