Gevuina (Chilean hazelnut)

Gevuina avellana · Nut

40 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 soundThe 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.Everyday best

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 to look for, from sound shell, ivory kernel to oily, stale, rancid.

What one gives you

35%

Usable yield

Woody shell 57–59% and papery cuticle 7–8% · that pericarp is the refuse · INFOR, on oven-dry weights

Preparing