cqaigy2
Super Member
They call them filberts here, but i've wondered why not hazelnuts. I think i found out why, but am interested in what others have to say. Have you picked them, how do you process them. I love the flavour of fresh filberts.
Filberts vs Hazelnuts, what are they called where you live and why?
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ponytug
Super Member
Hazelnuts here. A neighbor has a big grove. I heard a rumor that he was trying to grow them for truffles, but we get less than a third of the rainfall normally required...
oldnslo
Super Member
Hazelnuts , chipmunks, squirrels, and Blue Jays harvest them. Never tried picking and shelling them myself.
MossRoad
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I call them Filberts because my mom called then Filberts, and I like saying Filbert.
Filbert
Filbert
Filbert
But the two bushes I bought were called hazelnuts. The kids have never heard of anything but hazelnuts (Nutella, hazelnut spread, ect). So I call them Filberts (the bushes, not the kids).
Our bushes produce a lot, but they are small compared to what you get at the store, so I let the squirrels eat them.
Filbert
Filbert
Filbert
But the two bushes I bought were called hazelnuts. The kids have never heard of anything but hazelnuts (Nutella, hazelnut spread, ect). So I call them Filberts (the bushes, not the kids).
Our bushes produce a lot, but they are small compared to what you get at the store, so I let the squirrels eat them.
I've only picked a few from the wild ones that grow around my house, mostly the Jays pick them. I have gathered off the ground at some groves. First time i really didn't know what i was doing and picked up a bunch of empty shells, but with a little experience you can tell if there's something inside, maybe even a filbert.
So i asked a nursery person down in Oregon why filberts here and not hazelnuts. That started a discussion between the other people standing nearby and people working at the nursery. All kinds of theories were brought up, but the one that made the most sense to me was as follows. Back when none native people started to settle the area, a lot of them came from France or French decedents, and they callem Filberts. But then i looked up what the French word for filbert was and found aveline. Some sources shows that hazelnuts and filberts are actually different plants, but other sources says not so.
So i asked a nursery person down in Oregon why filberts here and not hazelnuts. That started a discussion between the other people standing nearby and people working at the nursery. All kinds of theories were brought up, but the one that made the most sense to me was as follows. Back when none native people started to settle the area, a lot of them came from France or French decedents, and they callem Filberts. But then i looked up what the French word for filbert was and found aveline. Some sources shows that hazelnuts and filberts are actually different plants, but other sources says not so.
kenmbz
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Hazelnuts here east coast, only one I have is an ornamental, so fruitless.
Interesting story, I see them as hazelnuts when wandering through europe too.
Another possible answer:
/Hazelnuts-twenty20_78142624-3096-4628-926b-307ec7289da2-59835fecaad52b001086b160.jpg)
www.thespruceeats.com
Not something I really thought about until this thread
Interesting story, I see them as hazelnuts when wandering through europe too.
Another possible answer:
Why Are Hazelnuts Called Filberts or Cobnuts?
Hazelnuts are also known as filberts or cobnuts. The stories behind these other names may come as a surprise.
Not something I really thought about until this thread
ponytug
Super Member
My British friends all call them filberts; I never questioned that it was just British English. The usage of filbert goes back at least to the 1300s.
Personally, I think the attribution to St. Philbert is apocryphal, as the climate is so different south to north, but what do I know?
All the best,
Peter
Personally, I think the attribution to St. Philbert is apocryphal, as the climate is so different south to north, but what do I know?
All the best,
Peter
MossRoad
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Also, they hurt like heck if shot by a slingshot. 
RalphVa
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Think hazelnuts. Been trying to get a 2nd one for years. Planted 2 but one died. Finally, saw one growing another place on our property and moved part of it to near the older tree. Still not big enough to get nuts.
Same problem with paw paw, but I have 3 now growing up near the house and a 2nd one to pollinate the older one near where the hazelnut is.
Larry Caldwell
Super Member
All filberts are hazelnuts, but not all hazelnuts are filberts. A filbert strain of hazelnut yields more and larger nuts. Like Kleenex or Thermos, they became a generic term for any hazelnut.
JasperFrank
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They are called Fllberts here on the West Coast. I almost, want to call them Subdivision trees.
OldMcDonald
Platinum Member
It is not that simple!!!!
How about calling them cobnuts? The naming of the kind of nut we all know is the subject of the thread is not straightforward. You could even throw in Macadamias if you want to confuse things further. There are different forms of the nut. Start off with the varieties that have the top end poking out of the covering. Then take a different set of varieties that are completely covered. Different Corylus.
If you really want to try to decide which is which then Google "Cobnut,Hazelntu Filbert". Look at info from different countries. If you find an absolute definite method of deciding which name should be applied to a particular tree or bush you will be doing well and be far more knowledgeable than most of the population.
I used to try growing more than a few different varieties (the need for cross pollination is complicated when dealing with the commercial crop) and think I had only hazelnuts, but would not argue with somebody who claimed they knew otherwise.
How about calling them cobnuts? The naming of the kind of nut we all know is the subject of the thread is not straightforward. You could even throw in Macadamias if you want to confuse things further. There are different forms of the nut. Start off with the varieties that have the top end poking out of the covering. Then take a different set of varieties that are completely covered. Different Corylus.
If you really want to try to decide which is which then Google "Cobnut,Hazelntu Filbert". Look at info from different countries. If you find an absolute definite method of deciding which name should be applied to a particular tree or bush you will be doing well and be far more knowledgeable than most of the population.
I used to try growing more than a few different varieties (the need for cross pollination is complicated when dealing with the commercial crop) and think I had only hazelnuts, but would not argue with somebody who claimed they knew otherwise.
Origin of the names, not modern usage:
Bruce
Bruce
Torvy
Super Member
Filberts and Hazelnuts are cousins. Different nuts from different trees, but similar in shape and flavor. Hazelnuts are a bit smaller.
OldMcDonald
Platinum Member
Sorry, but whilst the link does show the origins of the word, I can assure you that all three words are indeed in modern usage. As I posted, Google the 3 words and you will find them all used by numerous sites.Origin of the names, not modern usage:
Bruce
/pine
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Lots of wild hazelnuts around here...they are like candy to squirrels...!
OldMcDonald
Platinum Member
I know of a filbert by the name of ... surprise, surprsie "Red Filbert". It was not one of the varieties I chose to plant on a commercial scale. I understand the leaves turn green a while after opening although the nut casings are reddish (as are some others) but I have not seen one growing so do not know.
Larry Caldwell
Super Member
Did you know filberts are not self-fertile? You have to have a pollinator to get a crop. I can't remember if the pollinator is male and the nut bearing trees are female, or if it just has to be another species, but remember that we planted one tree in 20 as a pollinator and the rest for nuts.
