Types of Hazelnut

GİRESUN QUALITY
Grown throughout Giresun and part of neighboring Trabzon, hazelnut production here has been famous for centuries. Besides having a nice round shape, they have the highest oil content and the most delicious taste. Furthermore, their skins can be removed easily and quickly.

AKCAKOCA QUALITY
Grown in the Western region of Black Sea these nuts are lower in fat content compared to the other varieties and are very suitable for the confectionery industry due to the ease in bonding with chocolate.

LEVANT QUALITY
Hazelnuts grown in all other areas of Turkey are known as Levant quality. Although Levant quality contains less oil than Giresun but slightly higher than Akcakoca. The fat content is generally higher than the nuts produced in countries other then Turkey therefore the taste is still superior.

ROUND HAZELNUTS

These hazelnuts, as the name implies, are more or less sphericial in shape. Round hazelnuts are of the best quality. Compared to pointed hazelnuts, round hazelnuts have a higher oil content,superior aroma and taste. The main types of this group are called “Round” ,”Palaz”, “Mincane”, “Fosa”, “Kara Findik”.

POINTED HAZELNUTS

These hazelnuts are longer in shape, contain less oil and the skins are more difficult to remove than the skins of round hazelnuts. They grow in the province of Giresun and Trabzon for the most part, and in small quantities in other provinces. The pointed hazelnuts of Giresun quality are believed to be the best. Another type of hazelnut included in this category (long and round) is known as Badem (almond shaped). Besides these two main species there are round hazelnuts called “Fosa”. These are generally larger then the others and occupy a special place in the “in-shell” hazelnut trade.

PROCESSED HAZELNUTS

Until recently, Turkish hazelnuts were exported only as natural kernels. During the past 20 to 25 years hazelnut processing plants have been built. Nowadays, together with hazelnut kernels, roasted, blenched, sliced hazelnuts, hazelnut flour and hazelnut paste are among the product forms which are exported. As a result, the market share of processed kernels has been growing steadily and is now about 34 percent of total hazelnut exports. New investments have also been realized by the Turkish Hazelnut exporters, some of which are joint-ventures. The major aim in the coming five years is to increase this share to 50 percent. Modern processing plants have enabled Turkey of to offer a wide range of processed products to various world markets.

The various types of processed hazelnut products include:

bleached (whole kernels/skins removed)
roasted whole kernels
chopped/diced kernels-sliced hazelnuts
cubical hazelnuts-ground hazelnuts
hazelnut flour/meals-hazelnut cream
flakes-oil roasted/salted whole kernels
hazelnut roasted in shell with/without salt
hazelnut paste-nougats