Gevuina (Chilean hazelnut)
Gevuina avellana · Nut
Top 10 pairings
The gevuina (Gevuina avellana), known in Spanish as avellano chileno and in Mapudungun as gevuin or guevín, is the round, cream-coloured kernel of an evergreen tree native to the temperate rainforests of southern Chile and adjacent Argentina. A close botanical relative of the macadamia, it has a rich, mild, faintly sweet, hazelnut-like flesh and is among the few edible nuts that thrive in a cool, wet, oceanic climate rather than a warm or Mediterranean one.
Picking a good onedrag
Sound shell, ivory kernelOily, stale, rancid
Dried and soundEveryday bestThe keeping nut, dried until the kernel snaps rather than bends. Roast and salt it, grind it to harina de avellana, or set it in chocolate.
ShellDull and dusty, a scuff or two, still closed
Weight and rattleSound in the hand, the faintest shift inside
The kernel, cracked openCream with a faint straw edge, and it snaps clean
SmellClean and quietly nutty, a little waxy behind it
What you get from one
35%
Edible part
Woody shell 57–59% and papery cuticle 7–8% · that pericarp is the refuse · INFOR, on oven-dry weights