Recently, the Hokusei North America team received an inquiry about hazelnuts from a potential Japanese client. Although we knew that hazelnuts are grown in Oregon (and that they taste pretty good on salads). So in the process of working on this project, we learned a few interesting things about hazelnuts:
- Oregon accounts for nearly 100% of the U.S. hazelnut crop. But, this represents only 5% of the global hazelnut yield. The world’s leading producer of hazelnuts is Turkey.
- Hazelnut trees produce until they are about 100 years of age.
- There are 1,000 hazelnut farmer families in Oregon, with hazelnuts trees planted on 80,00 acres
- Hazelnut trees bloom and pollinate in winter
- The hazelnut is Oregon’s official state nut (didn’t know there was such a thing…)
(Source: www.oregonhazelnuts.org, www.capitalpress.com)
One nice thing about working at Hokusei is learning about the great things that Oregon has to offer. If you’re interested in learning more about hazelnuts, please take a look at this video (Ever seen a hazelnut grove? They’re pretty beautiful):
