How to Peel Hazelnuts and Walnuts Easily and Effortlessly

How to crack hazelnuts at home

You can crack a hazelnut at home using a hammer, heating in the oven, a garlic press, or pliers. This will remove the hard shell from the hazel.

We recommend reading: Hazelnuts: beneficial properties and contraindications

How to peel hazelnuts with pliers

To peel hazelnuts at home using pliers, you need to choose the right size tool. The core must fit into the grip area and not slip out.

Before processing, pliers must be thoroughly washed to remove dirt so that it does not remain on the core. Then take the tool in your right hand, secure the nut with pliers and press sharply. To prevent the shell from scattering in different directions, you can cover the location of the fruit with your left hand.

Important! Don't use too much force. The fruit may split into small pieces and you will have to remove the kernel pulp from the debris.

How to peel hazelnuts with a hammer

To open the hazelnuts with a hammer you will need an additional cloth bag. The washed and dried fruits must be placed in a bag and tied. Then hit them several times. It is recommended to look inside the bag after several blows to remove any cracked kernels. If you don't do this, you may end up with a mixture of shell and pulp.

How to crack hazelnuts using oven heat

The easiest and most effective way is to use the oven to clean the kernels. The method allows you to quickly peel hazelnuts. Not only will the shells become softer, but the fruit will crisp up and taste better.

To do this, you need to wash and dry the nuts. You can rinse them using a colander and dry them using a kitchen towel and paper napkins. Then the hazel is placed on a baking sheet or in a baking dish without oil. It is recommended to preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

The loaded baking sheet is placed in the oven and kept there for 10 minutes. Take out the nuts and cool them. Place on a dry towel. Cover with the second one on top. To clean, you need to use a rolling pin to roll out the dough over the nuts.

This method will allow you to split the hazelnuts without damaging the kernels, and pieces of the shell will not fly apart in different directions.

How to peel hazelnuts with a garlic press

You can easily peel hazelnuts using a garlic press. To do this you will need a washed press. The kernels are placed one at a time into the press area and pressed with a handle from above. After the characteristic splitting sound, you don’t have to press anymore. To clean the hazel faster, it is recommended to pre-soak it in boiling water for a few minutes.

What to do if you can’t crack the hazelnuts

Heat treatment helps soften the shells of nuts. Boil water and boil the nuts for 10 minutes, then let them cool for about 20 minutes. After cooking, the shell should become less rigid and yield to impact even without a hammer - it will be enough to lightly squeeze the nut cracker or pliers in your hand.

You can also keep the nuts in the oven or coals, if we are talking about your own home.

How to peel hazelnuts

Under the shell, the hazelnut is covered with a brown skin. You can also eat it, but it is better to peel it. Often in this form, the fruits are used for confectionery purposes, for example, for making sweets, chocolate bars and serving dishes.

How to peel hazelnuts by roasting

The most popular way to peel hazelnuts. For this you will need any frying pan and a spatula or spoon. The coating of the pan doesn't matter. The process occurs in several stages:

1. The pan should be preheated over medium heat before frying.
2. Add nuts to the pan without adding oil.
3. Frying lasts from 5 to 10 minutes. The fruits are constantly stirred so that they do not burn.
4. The fried kernels are poured onto a towel or plate. You need to let them cool.
5. Then you should peel the hazelnut by rubbing it between your palms.

The process takes little time and allows you to easily peel the skin.

How to peel hazelnuts using a microwave

This method allows you to quickly peel nuts. But there is a risk that the fruits may burn if the processing is done incorrectly. The process goes like this:

1. It is necessary to wash and dry the kernels.
2. Spread them in an even layer on the surface of the plate. It is advisable to use a flat dish.
3. Turn on microwave preheat for 30 seconds. Stop it and mix the nuts with a wooden spatula. This procedure must be repeated several times until the skin begins to peel off.
4. Take out a plate of nuts and place it on a wooden board. Let cool.
5. Peel the kernels by rubbing between your palms.

Important! When using a microwave oven, you must use a wooden spatula. The plate becomes very hot and may crack if it comes into contact with a metal spoon or spatula.

How to quickly peel hazelnuts using boiling water

The method is suitable in cases where you need to peel the fruits raw without skin. Boiling water will help preserve all the beneficial properties, as well as the integrity of the hazel. You can clean hazelnuts as follows:

1. Wash the kernels thoroughly to remove dust.
2. Prepare a deep container that closes tightly, for example, a jar of the required volume.
3. Place the fruits in a container.
4. Pour boiling water over it.
5. Cover tightly with a lid and blanch for 10–15 minutes.
6. Drain and remove the skin with your fingers.

This method of peeling the husk is not popular because the process is labor-intensive and time-consuming.

How to properly peel walnuts?

On the street, you can easily crack a walnut by simply hitting it with a heavy object. But you shouldn’t use this method in an apartment, because all the neighbors will hear the sounds of your difficult struggle, and the shells, which can “shoot” from under a hammer, will end up in all corners of the kitchen. Another popular method is to split the halves of the “shell” with the tip of a knife. Its effectiveness and safety depend on the variety. If the shell is strong and its halves are tightly compressed, then there is a high chance of injuring your hand or simply bending the knife.

The Treasury of Folk Wisdom has a couple of tips on how to free walnuts from their shells without much effort.

We offer 3 ways to peel nuts at home:

• using boiling water;
• pliers;
• placing in the oven;

Place whole walnuts in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Leave for just 10 minutes, then wait until the nuts have cooled and carefully crack them with the tip of a knife. A steamed nut will give in very easily, and the shell halves will smoothly “unstick”. Do this very carefully, one careless movement and the knife can pierce the skin!

If you don't have a special nut cracker, no problem. Run to the pantry for some pliers. Here, of course, you need to put in a lot of effort, so it is better for the woman to ask her husband to carry out this operation. The clamped nut should be held in the palm of your hand and the handle should be squeezed with the other hand. Then the fragments will remain in your hand, and not on the floor and under the kitchen furniture.

Do not use a garlic press: it may fail and break.

Place the nuts on a baking sheet, preheat the oven to 200 degrees and place it there. 10 minutes of heat treatment will be more than enough to make the shell more fragile and pliable. When the walnuts have cooled, break them one by one using a hammer and a regular wooden board. You won’t have to make any special efforts, so be sure that no frightening sounds will reach your neighbors.

How to clean hazelnuts on an industrial scale

Previously, kernels in production were cleaned manually. This took a lot of time, causing the cost of the finished product to increase significantly. Currently, special machines have been developed for cleaning hazelnuts. Each device uses its own method.

Processing has its downsides. With such cleaning, hazelnuts lose some of their beneficial properties, and the integrity of the nuts is greatly compromised. The whole process occurs in several stages:

• drying fruits in shell;
• separating them by size (sorting);
• shelling;
• drying the finished product.

The nuts go to production, from where they are sent to a sorting point. There they are poured into a cone-shaped bunker. Through the holes, the fruits enter an elevator consisting of several stages, which transfers them to a calibration sieve. From there, the nuts fall onto a conveyor belt, where, depending on their size, they fall into the crushing shafts of the hopper, which alternately rotate in opposite directions and split the hazelnuts.

There are four cleaning methods used in production:

• vacuum method;
• soaking and frying;
• mechanical cleaning;
• cleaning using a calibrating and crushing apparatus.

Vacuum method:

1. Fruits are loaded into the container.
2. The device is hermetically sealed and air is pumped in to create pressure inside.
3. A sharp pressure drop occurs and the shell cracks.
4. The air is released, the kernels are taken out and sent to a sorting point.

To work with such equipment, you must undergo special training. If the device does not operate properly, an explosion may occur.

Soaking and frying:

1. The fruits are soaked in water using large containers.
2. Then they are placed in ovens for a few seconds. This is enough, since the temperature there is 600–900 degrees.
3. Pressure is created inside the shell and it bursts.

With this processing, the largest percentage of whole kernels is obtained.

Mechanical method:

1. The fruits are poured into a cone-shaped hopper.
2. They are fed one at a time into the shell cracking device. The compression ratio is adjustable.
3. The cleaned kernels end up in a special container.

This is a very long process. Currently used less frequently than others. It requires a lot of work experience. At the exit, the nuts remain in the form of halves and quarters, rarely whole.

Cleaning using a calibrating and crushing apparatus:

1. After calibration, the fruits enter the crushing hopper, where the shells crack.
2. Then the kernels fall onto special sieves.
3. With a large air flow, they pass through holes corresponding to their size.

In this way, nuts can not only be shelled, but also sorted by size.

After shelling the hazelnuts, they are sent to drying chambers. There the products are left for 14–16 hours at a temperature of 30–60 degrees. After drying, the kernels are sent to a winnowing machine and again to calibration machines. They are peeled on a winnowing fan.

Microwave

Today, in every home, housewives have many different modern kitchen appliances. Take, for example, a microwave oven. With its help you can not only cook quickly, but also process food. By the way, this is not at all difficult to do. Hazelnut lovers will be interested in learning how to peel hazelnuts in the microwave.

To do this you will need to do the following:

1. Place the nuts in a bowl or other deep container.
2. Pour hot water over the products.
3. Place them in the microwave chamber.
4. Turn on the device at full power.
5. Set the timer for 30 seconds.
6. After the signal, take out the dishes, pour out the water and wait until the hazelnuts cool down.

Chilled nuts will peel quickly and effortlessly. The dark skin is easily removed by hand. You won't need a knife or any other equipment here. In addition, the product undergoes additional heat treatment. And this is a guarantee that there will be no bacteria or germs left in it.

You can peel hazelnuts at home using available products. This does not require much time and effort.

The fruits grow on bushes. They are covered with green skin, and inside there is a kernel in a dense shell. To split it and clean it, you need to use available means.