Phew, hazelnut spread. Delicious as a topping for bread or secretly (when nobody's looking) with a spoon straight from the jar. And yes, the supermarket shelves are full of it. Hello Nutella! But: you can easily make hazelnut spread yourself. Simply from fresh hazelnuts that you buy or from hazelnuts that you forage yourself in the wild. Foraging expert Katja Wezel from wilderlust.nl shares her recipe, including handy tips for the foragers among us. Because let's face it: hazelnut spread that you've made completely by yourself just tastes even better.
Gathering hazelnuts
Hazelnuts grow on the hazel, a shrub (resembling a tree) that you often come across in the Netherlands: in parks, along woodland edges, in hedges and sometimes even right in residential areas. In spring, you recognise it by its long, yellow catkins – hay fever sufferers know that all too well – but at the end of the summer, it's all about the nuts. These often grow a few together in a green, somewhat frilly husk and fall to the ground by themselves as soon as they are ripe. TipBe sure to look under the bush and search among the foliage and grass. From early August, you can often start gathering the first hazelnuts (until about October). Hazelnuts are not only delicious, but also super nutritious: they are packed with healthy fats, protein and vitamin E. Be quick though, as squirrels and birds are also fond of them. Therefore, always leave plenty behind for the animals.
And the great thing about picking your own: you suddenly start looking at such a nut differently. Instead of mindlessly eating a handful of nuts, you realise just how many ‘fruits’ those actually are and that a hazelnut bush works for a whole year to produce them. (In fact, a hazelnut bush often only starts forming its first hazelnuts after about ten years.)
Making hazelnut spread
Kitchenware
- oven
- griddle
- food processor
- storage jar
Ingredients
- 200 g blanched hazelnuts
- 4 el pure cacao
- 1 el sesame oil
- 5 el maple syrup
- 100 ml hot water
Instructions
- Roast the hazelnuts in the oven at 170°C for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. Leave them to cool.
- Put the hazelnuts together with the cocoa powder and maple syrup in a food processor and blend into a coarse paste.
- Turn the food processor back on and gradually pour in the hot water, stirring continuously, until you have a smooth paste.
- Then add the sesame oil and mix for another moment.
- Put the pasta in a jar and store it in the fridge. It will keep for about a month.
Neat game picking
Gathering hazelnuts is great fun to do – even with kids! But don't forget: foraging in the Netherlands is officially forbidden and is often only tolerated. In some places stricter rules apply or it is strictly not allowed. And you are also not allowed to pick certain species. Therefore, always forage with respect for nature: only for personal use, never take more than you need and leave enough behind for animals and other nature lovers. Want to know more about what you should look out for? Here is a handy overview of the game picking rules.
Would you also like to go on the road with Katja? Check out her website wilderlust.nl with all the information about its wild-picking walks and courses.
You might also find this interesting
- Also see: candied green figs.
- Also see: green tomato chutney.
- Also see: sea buckthorn syrup.
Photo credits: left: Taryn Elliott, Pexels (dessert), middle: Wilderlust (hazelnut), right: Kirowang, Pexels (hazelnut spread).
