Hazelnut butter is a
food spread made from crushed and blended
hazelnuts. More commonly found in Europe, hazelnut butter is also familiar when mixed with chocolate as an ingredient in
chocolate spread
Chocolate spread is a sweet chocolate-flavored paste which is eaten mostly spread on breads and toasts or similar grain items such as waffles, pancakes, muffins, and pitas.
Although it tastes, smells, and looks like chocolate, it does not sol ...
s. Hazelnut butter is available in both crunchy and smooth varieties, and can be made from either raw or roasted hazelnuts.
Hazelnut butter is high in natural fats and susceptible to oil separation, so it should be stirred before use to distribute the oils evenly and refrigerated after opening to slow re-separation and prevent spoilage.
Nutritional information
Hazelnut butter is high in
monounsaturated fat
Monounsaturated fats are fatty acids that have one double bond in the fatty acid chain with all of the remainder carbon atoms being single-bonded. By contrast, polyunsaturated fats have more than one double bond.
Molecular description
Fatty acid ...
s, particularly
oleic acid
Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish. In chemical terms, oleic acid is classified as a monounsaturated omeg ...
, shown to play a role in reducing the adverse effects of
low-density lipoprotein
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is one of the five major groups of lipoprotein that transport all fat molecules around the body in extracellular water. These groups, from least dense to most dense, are chylomicrons (aka ULDL by the overall dens ...
(LDL). Hazelnut butter is also a good source of
dietary protein
Proteins are essential nutrients for the human body. They are one of the building blocks of body tissue and can also serve as a fuel source. As a fuel, proteins provide as much energy density as carbohydrates: 4 Calories, kcal (17 Joule, kJ) p ...
and
vitamin E
Vitamin E is a group of eight fat soluble compounds that include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Vitamin E deficiency, which is rare and usually due to an underlying problem with digesting dietary fat rather than from a diet low in vi ...
.
Raw food
Raw foodism, also known as rawism or a raw food diet, is the dietary practice of eating only or mostly food that is uncooked and unprocessed. Depending on the philosophy, or type of lifestyle and results desired, raw food diets may include ...
enthusiasts believe the butter made from unroasted hazelnuts possesses greater nutritional value and more beneficial
enzymes, both of which would otherwise be destroyed in the roasting process. Some also advocate that butter prepared from raw hazelnuts should remain refrigerated both before and after opening to minimize
oxidation
Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a ...
and
rancidity
Rancidification is the process of complete or incomplete autoxidation or hydrolysis of fats and oils when exposed to air, light, moisture, or bacterial action, producing short-chain aldehydes, ketones and free fatty acids.
When these processes o ...
.
Hazelnut butter can be used in dishes that call for
peanut butter, and as an alternative for those with
peanut allergies. Hazelnut butter contains more than twice as much
vitamin E
Vitamin E is a group of eight fat soluble compounds that include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Vitamin E deficiency, which is rare and usually due to an underlying problem with digesting dietary fat rather than from a diet low in vi ...
as peanut butter and is higher in cholesterol-reducing monounsaturated fat.
See also
*
List of spreads
This is a list of spreads. A spread is a food that is literally spread, generally with a knife, onto food items such as bread or crackers. Spreads are added to food to enhance the flavor or texture of the food, which may be considered bland with ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazelnut Butter
Nut and seed butters