Hazelnuts, Cobnuts & Filberts

The hazelnut (also known as a cobnut) and its close relation the filbert, both come from the family of hazel trees (genus Corylus). They are crunchy round, brown-skinned nuts covered with a papery skin, and have a slightly bitter flavour that becomes less apparent on roasting.

Once the papery skin has been removed, hazelnuts and filberts are perfect with goat's cheese and in green salads, and are also delicious when added to cakes, ice-cream, chocolate desserts and puddings.

Ground hazelnuts may be used to make cakes by combining them with eggs and sugar; their high fat content and mealy texture means that no butter or flour is needed.