Wild Food Guide — 'O'

This is the description page for Hazel (Corylus avellana) and includes a description as well as an image, if available and a selection of recipes from this site that relates to the wild foodstuff: Hazel.

The Common Hazel, Corylus avellana, (also known as Cobnut) is a species of hazel and a member of the Betulaceae (beech) family. This deciduous shrub (which rarely grows more that 7m tall) is native to Europe and Asia. It bears dark green leaves that are rounded, 6–12 cm long and across, softly hairy on both surfaces, and with a double-serrate margin. It is the hazel that bears the classic catkins (also known as 'labmbs' tails' of carly spring (though these can appear any time from December to April. The plant is monoecious (ie bears separate male and female flowers on the same plant) with the female flowers being very small and largely concealed in the buds, with only the bright red 1-3 mm long styles visible. The fruit is a true nut, produced in clusters of one to five with each nut held in a leafy husk (an involucre) that encloses up to 3/4 of the nut. The nut falls from the involucre when ripe (generally in October) some eight months after pollination.

The common hazel is an important component of traditional hedgerows where they were interleaved to form impenetrable boundaries to domestic livestock. The wood was also traditoinally grown as a coppice with poles used for wattle-and-daub housing as well as for agricultural fencing. Common Hazel is cultivated for its nuts in commercial orchards in Turkey, Europe, China and Australia. This hazelnut or cobnut, the kernel of the seed, is edible and used raw or roasted, or ground into a paste. When collecting your own clean with a dry cloth and leave the nuts in their shells, they will then keep over winter and only need to be cracked open for use. Hazelnuts work well in both sweeet (pralines and chocolate) or savory dishes (they can be used in salads, stews and even make a flour if roasted and ground). They also make a refreshing drink if ground in a blender and mixed with milk. In the 15^{th century the leaves were used to make a highly-spiced pork stew called 'Noteye' (literally 'nutty', a recipe derived from HARLEIAN MS 279 c 1420).}

Noteye
Buttered Cobnuts
Watercress & Cobnut Soup
Marrow stuffed with nuts and Plums
Cocoa Cobnuts
Nutty Apple Icecream
Hedgerow Salad
Sweet Bean Cakes