Hazelnut paste is, together with chocolate, one of the most requested and used ingredients in the confectionery industry and in artisan pastry and ice cream shops. Obtained from chopped toasted hazelnuts, hazelnut paste is a completely pure and natural product. It is able to give the typical taste and sweetness of hazelnut to numerous desserts, but it is also highly recommended in the preparation of liqueurs and savory dishes. Let's discover together what hazelnut paste is, how to prepare it and how we can use it in the kitchen. dolcencasa hazelnut paste
What is hazelnut paste?
An essential ingredient in the preparation of many hazelnut desserts, hazelnut paste is a versatile and easy-to-use product. It is made by simply very finely grinding toasted hazelnuts, chopped until obtaining a sort of oily paste. During the hazelnut chopping phase, we can distinguish three different phases in which three different confectionery products are created:
- With a first quick chopping you get chopped hazelnuts, excellent for decorating sweet and savory dishes. It can be used in the preparation of shortcrust pastry, various baked desserts and to make fillings for snacks and nougats;
- With longer chopping, hazelnut flour is obtained, perfect for preparing sweet and savory baked goods and suitable for those suffering from celiac disease;
- Finally, chopping for several minutes, we will obtain the hazelnut paste. In this last step, the hazelnuts release their oil, necessary to make the pasta creamy.
Hazelnut paste should not be confused with hazelnut cream: the latter, in fact, is a finished product, which can be enjoyed on its own, without the need to add it to other ingredients. Hazelnut paste, on the contrary, is a semi-finished product with a very pronounced taste and, as such, must be added to other ingredients in order to be consumed. In fact, it is mainly used to enrich ice creams, cakes, mousses, semifreddos, bavarois, spoon desserts, shortcrust pastry and sponge cake mixes and many other desserts and baked goods.
How to make hazelnut paste at home?
Hazelnut paste can also be made at home. There is no real recipe, in the sense that the quantity of hazelnuts to use depends a lot on how much hazelnut paste you want to obtain. The only ingredient in this recipe is hazelnut, but it may happen that a little hazelnut or seed oil is needed during processing to make the cream smoother and softer. Making it at home is very simple, however it requires some care during the toasting phase of the hazelnuts, a fundamental step to eliminate all the skin.
Here are the steps to make the hazelnut paste:
Spoon dessert made in a glass jar with hazelnuts
- The first step is, in fact, to toast the hazelnuts in the oven. In this case, arrange the hazelnuts, in a quantity equal to that of the hazelnut paste you wish to obtain, on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Place the hazelnuts in the oven for about ten minutes at 180-200 degrees, taking care that they do not burn so as not to make the work wasted. This step can be skipped if you purchase toasted hazelnuts or use chopped hazelnuts.
- Once toasted, the hazelnuts must be rubbed with a cloth to remove the skin.
- Finally, finely chop the hazelnuts (better if they are still hot) with a food processor, thermomix or immersion blender, until they are reduced to an oily paste. It is advisable to grind at intervals, in order to avoid overheating of the robot motor and, therefore, its demise.
Store homemade hazelnut paste in the refrigerator, sealed in an airtight container, for no more than a week. If you want to prolong its conservation, you can freeze it.
Which hazelnuts to use to obtain hazelnut paste?
Italy is famous for its hazelnuts. We are, in fact, the second largest producing country in the world behind Turkey. There are several Italian cultivars, some perfect for making confectionery products, others more suitable for direct consumption. Hazelnut and chocolate semifreddo, decorated with hazelnut cream and a golden hazelnut on top. Italian hazelnuts are mainly produced in four regions: Campania, Lazio, Piedmont and Sicily. The main varieties requested by the confectionery industry are: Tonda Gentile delle Langhe (Tribolata), Tonda Gentile Romana, Tonda di Giffoni, S. Giovanni, Mortarella, Nocchione, Riccia di Talanico, Tonda Bianca, Tonda Rossa. In Campania there are numerous cultivars. The most common are Mortarella and S. Giovanni. The Tonda di Giffoni, grown in the province of Salerno, is the most prized quality, which has been recognized with the PGI "Nocciola di Giffoni". Due to their characteristics, these hazelnuts are particularly requested by the confectionery industries for the production of hazelnut paste and grains, but they are also used whole in pralines, nougats and chocolate bars. In Lazio, in the province of Viterbo, the Tonda Gentile Romana and the Nocchione are cultivated, which have been recognized with the DOP "Nocciola Romana" brand. In Piedmont, the main cultivar is the Tonda Gentile delle Langhe (Tribolata) which, due to its excellent technological and organoleptic characteristics, has been awarded the PGI "Nocciola Piemonte". The latter is famous for being the main ingredient, together with chocolate, of the famous Gianduiotto, i.e. Turin gianduia chocolate. The smallest Italian production of hazelnuts is concentrated in Sicily, mainly located in the provinces of Messina, Catania and Palermo. Decorative hole composed of a hazelnut cake, chopped hazelnuts and coffee arranged on a gray table
How to use hazelnut paste?
Hazelnut paste is a versatile, completely natural product, capable of giving any dessert the typical taste and sweetness of hazelnut. It is used in pastry making for the creation of numerous hazelnut desserts: hazelnut paste, in fact, can be used to make shortcrust pastry, sponge cake and other hazelnut baked products; it can be added to cream, custard, Chantilly cream, Bavarian cream and mascarpone to prepare creams for cakes and cold hazelnut desserts such as semifreddos, mousses, entremets and spoon desserts. In ice cream parlors, hazelnut paste is used, together with the ice cream base, to obtain the classic hazelnut ice cream or hazelnut ripples, with which delicious cones and cups, "hard pieces" and ice cream cakes are made. Thanks to hazelnut ice cream it is possible to make stuffed hazelnut, a classic from the Pizzo Calabro ice cream shop, or shaken hazelnut coffee. Hazelnut coffee is very famous in Neapolitan cafés, a tasty coffee prepared with espresso, hazelnut paste, sugar and cream. With hazelnut paste it is also possible to make Nocciolino, a very delicious hazelnut liqueur, excellent to offer after a sumptuous meal as a digestive, to accompany desserts, to "correct" coffee or to use in cocktails. The hazelnut spread is very simple to prepare at home. To make it you only need two ingredients: dark chocolate and pure hazelnut paste. Instead of chocolate, it is possible to create a delicious spreadable cream using honey, ideal for flavoring both sweet and savory dishes. Cremini, Piedmontese chocolates made with chocolate and hazelnuts, are also easy to prepare at home.
Where to buy hazelnut paste? Naturally on dolcencasa.com!
In our online shop you can find many varieties of hazelnut paste. To give an example, Italian Hazelnut Paste is simply made by very finely grinding the best Mortarella hazelnuts, without the addition of other ingredients. The Pure Tonda Gentile Piemonte Hazelnut Paste is produced, however, by processing the Tonda Gentile delle Langhe hazelnut. For those who love stronger flavours, we have our Gusto Forte Hazelnut Pasteand the 100% Intense Pure Hazelnut Paste. Dolcincasa hazelnut paste is a professional product of the highest quality, pure, Made in Italy, easy to use in your sweet and savory recipes. Visit our shop and discover the entire range of Dolcincasa hazelnut pastes!
