Freddy Guys Hazelnuts

A hazelnut is also known as a filbert nut and is most often associated with desserts or chocolate (think Nutella or praline). But the hazelnut is also delicious roasted and salted and can be used to make hazelnut butter, an alternative to peanut butter.  In Europe, hazelnuts are used to make a paste for pastries or chopped and then sprinkled on the sides of cakes or tortes. Frangelico, a vodka-based liquor is flavored with hazelnuts and hazelnut oil is gaining popularity as a cooking oil.

Although Turkey is the largest producer of hazelnuts (with 75% of the world’s production), the United States has a small number of growers, primarily in the northwest. Sixty miles north of Eugene, Oregon is a 60-acre hazelnut farm owned by the extended family of Freddy Guys.

The hazelnuts are grown, harvested, and roasted on-site (with a special roasting machine from Italy) with a watchful eye to ensure the nuts are not overcooked before being packaged. Raw hazelnuts, which are sweet and slightly chewy are also available but my preference is for the roasted nuts which are lighter in color (surprisingly because the nuts shed a dark layer of skin during the roasting process) and crunchy yet still sweet and nutty.

The hazelnuts are roasted twice a week which means the nuts are fresh when ordered and shipped.  The hazelnuts come in various sized bags from 8 ounces to 1, 2, 4 and even 10-pound bags. Each 8-ounce bag of dry roasted hazelnut kernels is $6 and the 1-pound bag is $10 and can be ordered at the company website listed below. The company also sells raw natural hazelnut kernels, roasted dice hazelnuts (great for putting on the sides of a cake or to add to sautéed green beans), roasted hazelnut meal (for baking), and a wide selection of other hazelnut products including oils, seasoned nuts, dipped nuts, granola, and spreads.

Freddy Guys Hazelnuts
12145 Elkins Road
Monmouth, Oregon  97361
503-606-0458
www.freddyguys.com