Most of us love nuts and value them for their high content of nutrients, vitamins and trace elements. Hazelnuts and hazelnuts, which have a pleasant taste, are very popular. They are beneficial to the body if the nuts are stored and consumed correctly.
What's the difference between hazelnuts and hazelnuts, how are they different? The answer to this question will be of interest to many nut lovers.
Hazel or hazelnut
Hazel is wild plant... It is a deciduous shrub, less often a tree with wide and large leaves. Hazel grows in dense deciduous forests of central Russia.
Modern gardeners now grow hazel in their summer cottages, but not everyone manages to collect a bountiful harvest of nuts. In too shaded places or with close planting, the yield of hazel is greatly reduced.
Hazel is bred in a bush method, sowing ripe fruits, by vaccination. With proper care, hazelnut can remain healthy and bear fruit for a long time, for 20-30 years.
The shrub grows up to 3-5 meters high. Flowers appear on hazel in April-May, and the fruits ripen in August. The bush bears fruit annually, but the yield varies.
The old hazel needs rejuvenate the plant stem, cut off and cover it with fertile soil. Hazel needs proper pruning, old branches are removed, and new ones remain to give new male and female flowers.
The fruits should only be picked when they are fully ripe. Unripe nuts lose their flavor and healthiness. Hazel used in the food industry... Nuts are added to confectionery and dairy products.
Hazelnut
This type of nut is considered cultivated. It differs from hazel in a large selection of bred varieties, fruit size and good yield... There is a difference in the size of the shrub. Hazelnuts are highly valued for their beneficial properties and taste.
Even before our era, people ate the valuable and nutritious hazelnut. He helped them get through the winter when there was no vegetation. Over the years, people began to obtain by selection method improved varieties of hazelnuts... They have many advantages:
- A more powerful root system that draws all the necessary components from the soil.
- They are less susceptible to various diseases, so there is no need to use chemicals.
- Improved taste.
- Large fruit sizes.
Useful and medicinal properties of hazelnuts
At its core, hazelnuts are cultivated species of hazel... Various varieties of hazelnuts have been developed by humans for industrial purposes. It is considered a very valuable and healthy product.
In addition to the taste of hazelnuts has medicinal properties... All parts of the plant are used for the preparation of medicines:
- kernels;
- shell;
- leaves;
- pollen;
- bark;
- shoots;
- roots.
Hazelnuts are very high in calories, but despite this, with reasonable use, they will not give extra pounds. It is high in high-value fats and unsaturated fatty acids, many vitamins and protein, amino acids.
Nuts also found application in beauticiansand, its oil is added to shampoos, creams, masks. It has powerful tonic, regenerating and nourishing properties.In order for hazelnuts to bring health benefits, it must be used correctly.
The correct combination in products will give a positive result. These are mainly fruit and vegetable dishes, as well as fermented milk, bakery, grain and cereal products.
Hazelnuts, hazelnuts: differences and nuances of planting
In fact, there is no difference between hazelnuts and hazel, since hazel was domesticated and began to grow at home. Hazelnut smallerthan hazelnuts, they are more difficult to collect in forest thickets.
Hazelnut fruits are considered more useful for health, since it grows in its natural environment. It is believed that growing a hazelnut on your site is very difficult, it will take a lot of effort and time. It's easier to buy a hazelnut seedling and plant it on your site.
For planting, you should choose a variety of hazelnuts suitable for certain climatic conditions. There are many varieties that produce large fruits. In a few years, with proper care, the bushes will give a good harvest.
Experts recommend to select for growing on your own plot frost-resistant hazelnut varieties... Hazelnuts are planted in spring and autumn, but if a seedling is planted in spring, then before the onset of cold weather it will have time to strengthen its root system.
The bushes planted in autumn will bear the first fruits of nuts in spring. Pits for planting hazel must be made in advance so that the soil can erode. This will protect the young plant from bacteriosis.
In care, hazelnuts are undemanding, but they like it when the soil is periodically loosened shallowly so as not to damage the root system of the plant. It is located superficially. It is recommended to water the soil well after loosening. It is advisable to choose well lit places for landing.
Seedlings are best placed at the edge of the plot. After planting, the seedlings must be shortened by 15–20 cm, and the main formation of the bush is performed after 5 years. Every year you need to do sanitary and anti-aging pruning.
Harvesting and storage
Hazelnuts must be harvested taking into account the climatic conditions of the region in which they grow. Most often, the harvest takes place in the month of July-September. If unripe fruits are harvested, they do not survive well and can lie no more than one month.
Full ripening of the fruit can be determined by the peel of the nuts. If it becomes brown or yellowish, this is already a clear sign of fruit ripeness. Ripening continues until mid-September, and if the nuts are not picked in time, they crumble to the ground. Ripe fruits are usually crushed and harvested in the same way as walnuts.
For long-term storage, fruits with a hard and tough shell should be selected. Nuts are stacked in paper or cloth bagsable to pass air well. If you store hazelnuts in plastic wrap, the nuts will quickly suffocate and begin to grow moldy.
It is recommended to store nuts only in a dry place... If a rancid taste develops, they should not be eaten. This can cause poisoning, since mold causes the appearance of fungus, harmful substances are produced in them.
Once ingested, they lead to serious diseases. Peeled nuts are best kept in a closed containers made of glass or ceramics, so that later you can enjoy their taste and useful properties.
