Hazelnut

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Hazelnut (lat. Corylus maxima) - a nut from the Hazel family, belonging to the Birch family. In fact, hazelnuts are the fruits of the Lombard nut (large hazel).

A bit of history

It is believed that hazelnuts were brought out either by the ancient Greeks or by the ancient Romans. In ancient Greece, these nutritious nuts have always been considered a symbol of wealth, health, wealth and well-being in the family. In Rome, they personified strength and health, and our wise ancestors generally called hazel a blessed tree. In Russia, double nuts were constantly carried with them - they served as a talisman helping to protect themselves from dark forces and thunderstorms. And our ancestors also believed that lightning cannot strike hazel.

Nowadays, under the word "hazelnuts" several types of hazel are combined at once, however, the nuts we are used to in most cases are the fruits of large hazel.

Description

The height of this plant often reaches ten meters. Each tree is endowed with one-year densely glandular-pubescent shoots and gray branches. And broadly oval or rounded leaves are endowed with heart-shaped bases and short sharp tops. At the edges, the leaves are double toothed, and pubescent along the veins below. In addition, all leaves are endowed with lanceolate stipules and soft pubescent petioles.

Hazel fruits are slightly elongated or spherical single-seeded nuts, reliably protected by woody pericarp. They can be either single or clustered in two to five pieces. Each nut is protected by a cut tubular cover. And the velvety pubescent fruit wrappers are characterized by a light green color and can be either bell-shaped or broad-shaped.

Beneficial features

Hazelnuts are very rich in all kinds of nutrients, and in terms of their calorie content (about 700 kcal per 100 g), they are eight times higher than milk and chocolate and two to three times higher than bread. This nut is widely used as a dietary food product - it is recommended to use it for varicose veins, enlargement of the prostate gland, anemia and various diseases of the cardiovascular system. Hazelnuts can be eaten even by people suffering from diabetes. Moreover, it can be consumed without the risk of gaining weight even on the strictest diet - this is due to the fact that hazelnuts are quite low in carbohydrates.

And hazelnuts also contain substances that help remove toxins from the body in general and from the liver in particular. Regular consumption of these nuts in food helps to strengthen the immune system, cleanse the body and even prevent putrefactive processes.

Use in traditional medicine

Hazelnuts are often used in folk medicine. Infusion of hazel leaves is an excellent diuretic. In addition, this drink has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the intestines, stomach and liver.

The bark of trees helps to heal from dysentery, hemorrhoids, trophic ulcers, rheumatism and colds. And walnut oil, however, like any hazelnut products, helps a lot in case of a decrease in sexual function.

As for the nut milk, it is very successfully used for the treatment of chronic bronchitis and as an effective sedative. By the way, such a product is not difficult to prepare at home. Fifty split nut kernels are poured over a glass of warm water and left for ten hours. Then the nucleoli are ground and left to stand for three hours, after which the mixture is brought to a boil and filtered. Add five tablespoons of cream and one and a half tablespoons of honey to the resulting composition and mix everything thoroughly. And they use a healing potion twice a day before meals, one tablespoon.