Cracking Hazelnuts

With cracking hazelnuts, the shelling is part of the pleasure. Giresun hazelnuts are roasted whole in their shells, which trap the aroma inside, and the shells are lightly split before the nuts come to you. Each kernel stays enclosed until the moment you open it, so it reaches you as fresh as it can be. Opening them one at a time also slows you down, which makes for a much more measured snack than a heap of loose kernels.

Plain or salted

• Plain: no added salt, so the hazelnut's own taste comes through.
• Salted: the salt goes on during roasting; a classic to set out alongside tea.
• Each pack weighs 500 g including the shells.
• For kernels that are already out of the shell, look at Double Roasted Hazelnut Kernels.

Before you crack one open

Do I need a nutcracker?
No. Each shell has already been split during roasting, so pressing with your fingers on both sides of the crack is enough to open it.

How many kernels are in a 500 g pack?
Keep in mind that the 500 g includes the shells. Roughly half the weight of a hazelnut is kernel, so expect somewhere around 250 g of kernels per pack.