Filberts or Hazelnuts? What’s the Difference?

An Oregon filbert/hazelnut orchard.

 

We went down to Oregon’s Willamette Valley to visit our son at college for father’s weekend. Trying out our large toy hauler for the first time, our friends John and Charlie Scharf let us park in their backyard. Looking out their living room window, the view was incredible. They, like us, are surrounded by farmground.

Emerald beauty

John and his brother, Jay and dad, Bob, grow everything from grapes to grass seed to corn to wheat to hazelnuts. Er, I mean filberts.

Apparently filberts and hazelnuts are really the same nut. It just depends how they are processed, according to my girlfriend. She says they are trying to market the name as filbert in Oregon because theirs are better for use in chocolates and candies – they are larger and don’t go rancid as quickly as the sun-dried Hazelnuts of Europe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazelnut

Filberts, filberts everywhere...and really good to eat!

I couldn’t find verification on the internet, but I believe her. She’s a wonderful cook, and knows her nuts! Charlie even helped test the recipes for “Hazelnuts and More”, a cookbook full of yummy recipes.

http://www.amazon.com/Hazelnuts-More-Lucy-Gerspacher/dp/1558682031

Nut sex. It takes two varieties to pollinate. I think these are a Barcelona (left) and a Daviana.

I learned a lot about them when I toured an Oregon hazelnut producer’s operation. For example, it takes two kinds of nuts to pollinate, and they use a Barcelona and a Daviana.

I’ve been eating filberts all week and they are my new favorite nut!

http://www.leftoverqueen.com/2008/07/30/you-say-filbert-i-say-hazelnuta-schitzoid-daring-bakers-gateauwith-some-serious-issues

Nuts still in their husks.

Lots and lots of nuts.

http://oregonhazelnuts.org/

Hazelnuts dried and under cover awaiting processing.

These grain bins have heaters in them to dry the nuts.

The Willamette Valley is a beautiful place to live.

Paradise in our friends’ backyard!

What’s Cooking in the Country?

Maryhill Winery, Columbia River Valley, Washington

One hundred miles from Portland, Oregon, is a great place to be.  Maryhill Winery offered another cooking class yesterday. Instead of Thai, we learned to cook seafood with Chef Gary Puetz.

Of course Trena and I took it! Only this time, we invited more friends. Debbie Brown, Linda von Borstel, Wanda Hilderbrand, Arla Melzer and Tom McCoy came.

Trena, me, Gary, Tom, Debbie, Wanda, Arla & Linda (almost out of the picture!)

While eating delicious seafood and drinking good wine, Gary enlightened us on catching, cleaning, preparing and eating fish.

We tried four or five different kinds…I lost count, but they were all great.

Gary Puetz is an entertaining chef, and his crew cooked for us while he talked. I took notes because I knew I wouldn’t remember half of it otherwise. The only trouble is, I can’t find my notes right now, so I’ll try to remember what he said!

Gary Puetz

Use dry vermouth when you cook fish to eliminate the fishy odor!

Use limes instead of lemons: no seeds, lots of potassium (your body needs it and you won’t need salt), and its delicious.

Use dry ramen noodles, among other ideas, for breading – but throw away the awful seasoning packet – use it around your plants in the garden as an insecticide.

Cut a potato lengthwise and put it on a long barbeque fork, cut side down on the grill surface. Run it along the bars – it keeps seafood from sticking to the grill – the starch is the secret ingredient!

Of course Alaskan salmon and good Albacore can’t be beat. Don’t buy Chinese farmed fish. The water they are farmed in is runoff from pigpens. Do buy American farmed fish – its not the farmed fish of 30 years ago, and it is better for you than fish caught in polluted waters!

Grill fish skin off, 65% of the time on one side, 35% on the other.

A great crew of cooks!

Bake fish with the skin-off side up (i.e. Tire tread look) so that the oil from the skin is pulled down into all of the fish.

Use mayonnaise instead of butter or oil to seal the juices in: the oil renders out.

Never buy seafood with concave eyes. Fish needs to be cleaned and iced right away.

You know how seafood relaxes on the grill, and droops? Use a fork to lift the parts lower than the grill, and then use a spatula, so you don’t lose any!

Thanks, Gary! We learned a lot!

Oh, there was so much more that I learned… too much wine and too little time!

A great group of listeners, eaters and drinkers!

Cheese and grapes and a salmon spread were our first course. Then we ate a ceviche to die for: raw shrimp and salmon and vegetables, but not really raw because the lime chemically cooks the seafood. Yum! And it was accompanied with a wonderful salad with Albacore tuna on top.

Then we had a prawn risotto and baked salmon for the main course.

Gary’s son Matt, another chef extraordinaire!

Fudge cake with whipped cream and raspberry sauce for dessert!

Rosé, Viognier, Reserve Zinfandel, Syrah and a few other delicious wines…. We sat on stage, laughing and enjoying the company and food for three hours, before retiring upstairs to the winery!

Linda and Arla (trying to hide behind her glass…)

It turns out that he has known Forest Peters, another friend of ours, since they were five. They’re both from Newport Beach, Oregon and he calls her “Punkie.” (Sorry Forest, I couldn’t resist!)

Of course I had Gary sign a book for Forest…and I bought one for myself, too.

Thanks again, Gary!   http://www.seafoodsteward.com/