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In recent weeks, I have become reobsessed with Nutella which prompted me purchase a bag of hazelnuts (aka filberts) which had their skins intact. One of the recipes that I was playing around with called for peeled hazelnuts, but I figured they would be a cinch to remove – however, I quickly realized that was not the case. Hazelnut skins are stubborn – mighty stubborn.
Since picking papery peels off of 1 cup of hazelnuts sounded less than awesome, I did a little research and decided to use the roast and rub method. Essentially you roast the hazelnuts at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the nuts have darkened a bit and you can smell the nutty goodness wafting through your kitchen. Next, you place the hot nuts into a slightly dampened kitchen towel and rub the skins off using the towel. Apparently the combination of moisture and heat helps to loosen the skins. Well, this worked – sort of.
After rubbing and rubbing and rubbing, many of the hazelnuts were still flecked with pieces of brown skin which pretty much annoyed the heck out of me. I knew there had to be a better way. Again, I turned to Google and happened to stumble upon a method from Alice Medrich.
Basically you boil the hazelnuts in baking soda and water for a few minutes then immerse them in cold water before you peel the skins away. This technique enabled my perfectionist self to easily remove every single piece of hazelnut skin with ease! Now don’t get me wrong, this is still a bit of process, so don’t expect the skins to magically disappear, but I will tell you it works like a charm and is actually kind of fun!
Alice Medrich demonstrated this method to Julia Child while making Hazelnut Biscotti – you catch the entire process and Julia’s reaction to this method by watching the YouTube video below.
How To Peel Hazelnuts
Ingredients:
- 2 cups boiling water
- 3 tablespoons baking soda
- 1 cup hazelnuts
Directions:
- In a medium saucepan with high sides, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 3 tablespoons of baking soda to the water – the water will foam up.
- Add the nuts to the boiling water and boil for about 3 minutes. The water will turn black – don’t be alarmed. While the hazelnuts are boiling, prepare a medium bowl of ice cold water. After three minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove one test nut, placing the nut into the prepared bowl of ice water. Use your fingers to remove the skin, if the skin doesn’t come off easily, boil the nuts 1-2 minutes longer and try another test nut.
- When a test skin rubs right off, add the rest of the nuts to the ice water and peel them with ease.
- Place peeled nuts into a kitchen towel or paper towels and dry them thoroughly.
- If desired, toast the peeled and dried hazelnuts at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes - trust me it's so worth it!
- Method from Alice Medrich
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Jamie, thanks so much for this interesting post! Never heard of the “baking soda method” before; of course, I had to try it. Sooooo much easier!! Thanks for the enlightenment!!
I need to try this! I’ve heard of – and tried – the boiling method, but not with the baking soda. The method I used still didn’t work that well, so the baking soda must be the secret!!
I was making a hazelnut filling for a wedding cake last July when I had the same issues. I am way too anal…ahem I mean a perfectionist to deal with flecks of skin. The boil method saved my life LOL I will never use any other method again. :)
such a great tip!
Finally the secret has been revealed, thank you for sharing this! Nettie
I too am a hazelnut paste fan! I buy a 46% hazelnut paste that is wonderful and puts Nutella to shame tastewise.
Also, it is possible to buy already peeled off nuts (the raw Turkish type). Sometimes they come in large bulk bags. Last, I heard that some of the most famous hazelnuts come from Piedmont in Italy. Some companies in Italy sell ready to use hazelnut paste in 50 lb bucket or so. This is of course for the hazelnut (paste) freak like me ;)
That works great but then you have to wash the dishtowel…if you happen to have a large grain seive (metal preferable) you can just throw them in and roll them around with palms of hand…works great…the dishtowel serves underneath for the skins(which you then shake away). No mess, no fatigue! hugs from the WEST PORTICO, P
love your pictures. Especially the raw look of the wood surface with the hazelnuts!
Oh my goodness I need to try this, I’ve been doing it the old way and it’s just such a pain. This reminds me of blanching almonds.
hi! OMG this is amazing I had the hardest time peeling skins from nuts, do you might know if it works for almonds too?
Almonds are tricky because the skins are so much thicker and tougher. The method I have had the best luck with is to bring them to a boil in plain water, then let them cool down gradually. Then, with a little practice, you can learn to pick them up one by one, hold them over a bowl while giving them a twist between your fingers, and the blanched nutmeat pops right out. Once you get a rhythm going it’s very fast and kind of fun in an oddly sensual way.
If you want to chop or slice them, it’s easier to do while they’re still wet, btw. If you want to grind them, though, toast them first. Otherwise you’ll end up with almond paste.