What is the difference between hazelnuts and hazelnuts: definition, characteristics, similarities, differences, taste and appearance with a photo

Among all varieties of nuts, hazelnuts in most people are among the favorites. It has a delicate, slightly sweet taste and goes well with any dried fruit, chocolate, pastille. They make nut pasta and flour from it, add it to pastries, sweets, cakes, cakes, etc. Hazelnuts are often called hazelnuts or hazel, mistakenly believing that they are one and the same. Is such a statement true? Is there a difference between these plants? We will tell about how hazelnuts are different from hazelnuts in our article. But first, let us dwell on the definition and characteristics of these plants.

What is hazel?

Another name for this plant sounds like hazel. But most people know it as hazel or hazelnut. To be more precise, this is not even one plant, but a whole genus of shrubs (in rare cases, trees) that belong to the Birch family.

Hazel got its name due to the special shape of the leaves, resembling in appearance the fish of the bream. The adult plant reaches a height of 3-7 m. The branches of the bush are covered with brown bark. The leaves have a heart-shaped base and a pointed apex. The fruits are edible nuts of brownish-yellow shape, enclosed in a shell of leaves, in appearance resembling a bell.

In total, there are about 20 plant species that are widely distributed in Eurasia and North America. In the European part of Russia, on the territory of the Baltic states, Ukraine and Belarus, common hazel grows. The plant prefers fresh, moist and fertile soils of broad-leaved and mixed forests. The average life span of a bush is 80 years.

Hazelnuts and hazelnuts - the same thing or not?

Many people believe that these are two names of the same plant. And there really is some truth in this. Hazelnuts and hazelnuts (pictured) have the following similarities:

• plants belong to the same family (Birch) and the genus (Hazel);
• their shrubs and fruits look exactly the same;
• nuts are no different from each other in appearance, composition, properties and taste.

In fact, it is difficult to determine the difference between hazelnuts and hazelnuts. The fruits of plants do not differ even in shape: in the first and in the second case, it can be either oblong or round. So maybe there are no differences between plants? Let's consider this question in more detail.

Hazelnuts and hazelnuts - what's the difference?

As mentioned above, these two plants belong to the same family and genus. And between them, at first glance, there really is no difference. Hazelnuts and hazelnuts (pictured) can be either oblong or round. It all depends on the plant variety.

So what is the main difference between hazelnuts and hazelnuts? It consists in the fact that hazel is a wild plant that is found in deciduous forests and at the edges, and hazelnuts are cultivated as a nut-bearing shrub that gives a high yield. The fruits of hazelnuts or hazel are usually smaller in shape, and its yield is not so high. This is due primarily to the features of plant care. But in taste and other qualities, hazel is absolutely no different from hazelnuts.

Varieties of hazel

Despite the fact that around the world there are about 20 varieties of hazelnuts, the common hazel grows mainly in Russia. But in the same latitudes there are other varieties of plants:

1. Large hazel. A distinctive feature of this shrub is the dark red color of the leaves. The nuts themselves have an oblong shape. In length, they reach 2-2.5 cm, and their diameter is 1.5 cm. To taste, the fruits of the bush resemble almonds.
2. Hazel tree. The plant reaches a height of 30 meters. This is a real tree with a gray bark and a wide pyramidal crown of regular shape. The fruits of the plant are distinguished by a very thick shell.
3. Hazel has many leaves. The shrub reaches a height of 3 meters and is characterized by high frost resistance. The fruits of hazel multifolia have a flattened shape and reach a diameter of two centimeters.

You can determine how hazelnuts differ from hazelnuts by the appearance of the fruits of these plants. The nuts of the cultivated shrub are larger and ripen a little earlier in comparison with a wild plant.

The difference in planting hazel and hazelnuts

It is generally accepted that it is rather difficult to grow hazelnuts on your own garden plot. It is only under natural conditions that the shrub grows on badlands and in shaded places. In the garden, hazel will require slightly different conditions. It is better to plant a shrub in a fairly sunny area and provide good watering. Experts do not advise planting one plant. It is better if there are immediately 2-3 bushes nearby.

The main difference between hazelnuts and hazelnuts when planting is that the hybrid plant is more finicky. For the shrub, only fertile soil is suitable, which should often be loosened, literally after each watering. To get a good crop, the plant should be systematically fed. To plant a bush requires a large plot of land. In addition, for the normal growth of hazelnuts, unlike hazel, one should take care of the absence of weeds around the trunk.

Productivity

As noted above, hazelnuts are a cultivated form of hazel. The plant is high-yielding and has larger fruits. In general, hazelnut crops, unlike hazel, are considered stable. However, the cultivated plant is thermophilic and unstable to frost. But it is the latter that are the main cause of low productivity. The following measures will help to get more fruits in the fall:

1. When planting in a garden area, single plantings should be avoided. It is optimal for 2-3 shrubs to be located right next to each other.
2. When planting, use plants of different varieties to ensure cross-pollination.
3. For an early harvest, it is recommended to plant hazelnuts with varietal seedlings. Then the bush will be able to please the first fruits in the spring. Saplings obtained from seeds will bring crops only in the second ten life.
4. To increase the yield of the plant, it is recommended to pollinate manually by simple spraying.

Harvesting and Storage

Visually, the bushes of cultivated hazelnuts and wild hazel do not differ from each other. But with regard to harvesting, there is a slight difference between the plants. First, hazel fruits ripen a little later than hazelnuts. In this case, the climatic conditions of the place of growth should be taken into account. Secondly, harvesting hazel most often is difficult. As they ripen, the fruits of the hazelnut crumble, so some of them will definitely be lost.

Unlike shrubs growing in the forest, it is much easier to harvest from hazelnuts in the garden. The area under the trunk can be prepared in advance by clearing it and laying the fabric. The harvested crop is well dried in a ventilated area, and then transferred to fabric bags.

How to choose hazel and hazelnuts?

To get a really tasty hazelnut, regardless of whether it is wild-growing or cultivated, you need to pay attention to the following criteria:

1. Harvesting hazelnuts and hazelnuts falls in the fall - late September or early October.
2. The nut collected at this time has an almost white shell, and only after a while it begins to darken. The lighter the hazelnut, the more fresh it is.
3. It is not recommended to purchase already peeled hazelnuts. The fact is that after removing the shell, its shelf life is significantly reduced. Such a nut can deteriorate much faster.
4. If you want to buy the fruits of wild hazel, you need to know how hazelnuts are different from hazelnuts. The shape of the fruit of the latter is larger and rounded. Hazel collected in the forest is usually smaller and has an oblong shape.

Useful properties of walnut

As for the nutritional value, calorie content and benefits of hazel fruits, they are completely unaffected by how the hazelnut differs from hazelnuts. The fruits of both wild-growing and cultivated plants have approximately the same composition of vitamins, minerals, biologically active substances, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Hazelnuts and hazelnuts are recommended to be included in your diet for people suffering from vascular diseases, nursing mothers to increase lactation. The effectiveness of hazel fruits in the fight against cancer, to strengthen the immune system, etc. is proved.