BLANCHING HAZELNUTS

By jarren

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 to 4 cups water, I use purified (filtered) water
• 3 1/2 to 2 cups hazelnuts, also known as filberts
• 4 tablespoons baking soda

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F. and have a half sheet baking pan or other baking pan (like a pizza pan) ready.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring water to a full boil. While water comes to a boil, measure hazelnuts and baking soda; set aside. Add baking soda to boiling water. (The water will bubble up and fizz.) Quickly but carefully add the hazelnuts.

Cook the hazelnuts for 3 to 4 minutes. (I have found that 3 to 31/2 minutes is perfect.) The water will turn a very dark reddish-brown color (almost black) from the skins. Test a nut by running it under cold water. (I like to use my slotted spoon to remove the nut from the boiling water.) The skin should slip off easily using two fingers. If not, boil another 30 seconds to 1 minute longer.

Once the skin easily slips off the test nut, remove the saucepan from the heat and strain the nuts using a colander placed in the sink. Rinse nuts well under cold running water then slip off the skins using your fingers. (If you’d rather not stand over the kitchen sink, use a bowl of cold ice water and complete the process sitting at the kitchen table. Simply use a slotted spoon to transfer the strained nuts into the bowl of ice water.) After the skins are removed, dry completely with a kitchen towel or paper towels before transferring to a baking sheet.
Toast blanched hazelnuts in preheated oven, stirring often, until light golden brown and fragrant, about 15 to 20 minutes depending on the size of hazelnuts (15 minutes for small hazelnuts and 20 minutes for large). Cool completely on a wire rack before chopping and using in recipes.

Tips:

During the last few minutes of baking, watch nuts closely so they don’t burn.
The reason why ice water is used in a bowl is because when all the warm nuts are added, some of the ice will melt and the water will be just cold enough to stop the cooking process while aiding in the removal of the skins. There is no need to use ice if using cold running water working over the kitchen sink.