How hazelnuts are grown
Traditional hazelnut growers snap shoot tips on purpose to push the tree toward making more nuts.
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The short version
Hazelnuts grow in husks on shrubby trees and drop free when ripe, seven to eight months after pollination. They are shelled and sold raw, roasted or ground into paste. Turkey grew 57.7 percent of the world's crop in 2023, and the nuts end up in chocolate spreads and pralines.
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Snap the shoot tips
In the traditional method called brutting, growers snap, but do not break off, the tip of each new shoot at the end of the season. The tree then puts energy into flower buds, which means more nuts.
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Wait for the fall
A nut falls from its husk when ripe, about seven to eight months after pollination. It is a round to oval nut about 15 to 25 millimeters long.
7 to 8 months after pollination
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Sweep up and clean
Fallen nuts are swept or machine-lifted from the orchard floor. Husks and debris are removed before drying.
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Crack the shell
Shells are cracked to free the kernel, which makes up a third to half of the whole fruit depending on the cultivar. Kernels are sorted for roasting or sale.
Worth repeating
- Turkey grew 57.7 percent of the world's hazelnuts in 2023.
- Hazelnut shells found in a Scottish pit show people processing nuts on a large scale some 8,000 years ago.
- Hazelnuts go into praline, chocolate bars and cocoa spreads such as Nutella.
Where it comes from
- Turkey57.7% of world production
2023 share of world hazelnut production, per Wikipedia.
Where it goes next
Hazelnuts feeds 1 line directly.
Keep walking
Sources
Cite this page: "How hazelnuts are grown." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/hazelnuts