Italian toasted shelled hazelnuts

Italian toasted shelled hazelnuts

Round, small, tasty, protagonists of many traditional biscuits and desserts, as well as fundamental for the famous spreadable cream so loved all over the world: with hazelnuts our research to discover the dried fruit typical of the Holidays ends. After all, there is no Christmas without these nuts already appreciated by the ancient Greeks and also recommended by Cato, who proposed to the Romans to cultivate the plant of the city's vegetable gardens.

Hazelnuts in history

A tree of ancient origins: it would seem to date back to the end of the last ice age, and several fossils show that the fruits were already part of the diet of primitive men, who fed mainly on berries and wild fruits. Fundamental has always been its wood, which was used to protect itself from snakes and to create the "chopsticks" of magicians and sorcerers. Native to Asia Minor, it was one of the first plants cultivated by man, who particularly appreciated its tasty and nutritious fruits, able to preserve for a long time.

Properties and nutritional values of hazelnuts

Like most nuts, hazelnuts also represent a high caloric intake and are highly energetic foods. They contain a good percentage of fats, especially monounsaturated ones, among which oleic acid stands out, excellent for counteracting bad cholesterol and a valid ally of health, which helps prevent heart disease. Also noteworthy is the presence of vitamins E, which hinders free radicals and prevents aging thanks to its antioxidant power, in addition to the vitamins of group B. The amount of fiber and magnesium is also good.

Uses of hazelnuts in cooking

In addition to being precious in pastry (and one of the basic ingredients of ice cream), hazelnuts can also be used for savory dishes. Chopped they go well with butter and flour to prepare crumbles, but even a simple sprinkling of grain on a timbale or a first course is enough to give more taste and crunchiness to the recipe. In risottos they go well with mushrooms, and can also be used for variations of the typical pounded sauces, as well as embellishing fish dishes and roast meat. Last tip, try to add them to the bread dough: you will get a delicious and fragrant product.

Hazelnuts in pastry

Among the most famous sweets based on hazelnuts, the ugly but good, originating in Tuscany but also widespread in Northern Italy (the recipe was in fact imported into the region by Piedmontese pastry chefs, when the capital of the newborn Kingdom of Italy was moved from Turin to Florence). In Piedmont there are also the peanuts, in the beginning called noisette, which in French means hazelnuts, invented by the Chivasso pastry chef Giovanni Podio and made with hazelnuts, egg whites and sugar, the same ingredients at the base of the ugly but good. Also in Piedmont, a territory that boasts the famous Tonda Gentile variety of the Langhe, among the most valuable, there are also the baci di dama, produced with flour, hazelnuts, sugar, dark chocolate and butter, and those of Chivasso, with dark chocolate, toasted hazelnuts and cocoa butter.

SOURCES:

Christmas dried fruit. Hazelnuts: properties, nutritional values and uses in the kitchen - 2 Jan. 2021, 10:28 | curated by Gambero Rosso

https://www.gamberorosso.it/notizie/storie/frutta-secca-di-natale-nocciole-proprieta-valori-nutrizionali-e-usi-in-cucina/

Conservazione

Successivamente all’acquisto di Italian toasted shelled hazelnuts se si intende conservare a lungo, bisogna riporre il prodotto in luoghi freschi e asciutti, al buio, lontano da fonti di calore e umidità.
La condizione ideale di mantenimento è in ambiente refrigerato, la refrigerazione infatti prolunga la conservabilità. Il prodotto può anche essere conservato senza problemi a temperatura ambiente durante la stagione invernale date le basse temperature. Durante l’ estate invece è consigliabile conservare il prodotto in frigorifero o in ambienti il più freschi possibile, in quanto l’aumentare delle temperature potrebbe favorire il deperimento dei prodotti.
Il contenitore ideale dentro cui riporli è il vetro. Grazie alla sua costituzione infatti è impenetrabile ad agenti chimici e gassosi, e avendoottime capacità isolanti termiche mantiene per un tempo più lungo la temperatura iniziale rispetto agli altri materiali. È inoltre costituito esclusivamente da sali minerali, per cui non esiste il pericolo della cessione di materiali organici. Se il vetro è colorato tanto meglio:utilizzando vetri colorati si impedisce l’ingresso di alcune lunghezze d’onda di luce (inclusa quella ultravioletta) e quindi alcune caratteristiche nutrizionali ed organolettiche rimangono inalterate. Essi ci vengono in aiuto anche qualora il prodotto si trovi in condizioni non ideali, ad esempio esposizione al calore o al sole.
È importante anche il tipo di chiusura del contenitore: un tappo ermetico fa si che l’alimento sia protetto da un eccessivo contatto con l’ossigeno che può condurre a ossidazione lipidica e che può essere essenziale per i batteri aerobi.
L’ambiente è sempre bene che sia ben areato: ventilando i locali si mantiene sotto controllo l’umidità interna che fuoriesce dalle finestra, garantendo il giusto equilibrio, il che aiuta a sfavorire l’insorgere di muffe.