Photo Friday: Hazelnut Failure

Photo Friday is my day to share my photographs of the moment and my thoughts associated with them. I hope you enjoy my photographs as much as I enjoy sharing them.

Awhile back, I had a hazelnut failure. I took this picture and have been meaning to post it for ages, to ask you…my readers…those that know more about cooking than I…for help. I found hazelnuts on sale in my area, such a rare find for me. Not just that they were on sale, but that I was able to find them. Research told me that to remove their skins they should be baked on a low heat, then rubbed in a napkin.

I baked.

I rubbed.

I baked some more.

I rubbed some more.

And those damn skins stayed on the hazelnuts. And the skins don’t taste that great.

I am horrified to admit I ended up disposing of them after many, many months. They had gone stale. And I didn’t know how to fix my dilemma.

Sadness reigned.

Do you have a better suggestion on how this could have been resolved?

Comments

Lisa says:

January 21, 2012 at 4:52 pm

I think it’s virtually impossible to get all the skin off. At least that’s what I tell myself. I have read that you can boil them but I still think you have to rub the entire surface of every single nut. I don’t have that kind of patience. This is one of those times when good enough is good enough for me!

Joanie says:

January 23, 2012 at 5:10 pm

The skins apparently taste bad? News to me! Haha, I didn’t even know there was a process for prepping them before just shoveling them in one’s mouth. I asked my mother and she said my grandma always boiled them with baking soda for a few minutes, then rubbed them in a kitchen towel and that supposedly worked. She then roasted them.

I had to throw away a huge (free!) container of pine nuts once. I just kept putting off using them for a “better” recipe to come around. They went rancid before I found that recipe. It was a sad sad day.