Eating more hazelnuts A healthy powerhouse!

Hazelnut: healthy powerhouse
Hazelnuts have season in the fall. The fruits are ripening for us from the beginning of September until the middle of October. Hazelnuts are small powerhouses. The nuts contain plenty of vitamin E, various B vitamins, minerals such as calcium and magnesium, fiber and phytochemicals. Therefore, they can enrich the diet as part of a varied diet.

Recognize the freshness of hazelnuts by shaking test. Image: Dionisvera - fotolia

However, the nuts should be eaten in moderation, since they are not just light food with 644 calories per 100 grams. This is due to the high fat content, even if it is valuable unsaturated fatty acids. The nuts are often eaten solo or in a nut mixture. They are delicious in fruit salad, muesli, poultry and pesto, but also in many baked goods such as gingerbread and fruit bread. They are processed in chocolate, brittle, nougat and as hazelnut oil.

Pay attention to quality when shopping. The "shake test" provides information about the freshness, because old and dried nuts rattle in the shell. Who has harvested hazelnuts in the garden, the fruits must dry for several weeks. After that, the nuts, hung in nets, can be stored for months in a dry, airy place. The hard shell can only be opened with a nutcracker. To remove the brown seed skin, you can heat the cores in the oven for 10 minutes to 200 degrees Celsius and rub the ruptured skin with a towel. The trade offers shelled kernels, but also chopped and ground hazelnuts for baking. Heike Kreutz, bzfe