A Whiter Shade of Pale

• The term blanching literally means "whitening," and in the case of nuts it means removing the skins. Almond skins slip off easily if the nuts are boiled, but hazelnuts are less cooperative. They're usually blanched instead by toasting them for eight to 10 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit, then pouring them out onto a rough kitchen towel. Double the towel over the nuts and rub them vigorously, which causes the skins to flake from the nuts in a small cloud of confetti. Some of the hazelnuts will retain patches of skin. You can separate those nuts for specific uses, or peel them with the tip of a paring knife. Shake your towel outdoors, to avoid littering your kitchen floor with nut skins.

Using the Blanched Nuts

• Blanched nuts are a better choice whenever the nuts are a primary visual element, as they are in nut brittle or in European desserts such as Linzertorte. The small bits of skin remaining on the blanched nuts lend visual interest in those cases. Desserts made from ground hazelnuts, or hazelnut butter or paste, usually look better if you select nuts that are entirely free of skin. That's also preferable if you're using the hazelnuts as garnish. They're often used on elegant Dobos tortes, to prop thin wedges of caramel-covered cake at an angle. For other cakes and pastries, a blanched hazelnut dipped in caramelized sugar makes an especially striking decoration.

Using Unblanched Nuts

• Although blanching the hazelnuts is not especially difficult or time-consuming, it does add time and extra steps to your baking project. In many cases, your baked goods will come out just fine if you use the nuts without blanching. Unblanched hazelnuts can be sliced, chopped or ground for use in cookies, and used whole or in fragments as a pleasant addition to cakes, muffins, dessert pastries or sweet breads. Their flavor and nutrition is a welcome component in many granola-bar recipes, or in homemade granola.

Making Your Choice

• Elegant European-style desserts and pastries typically specify blanched hazelnuts, for their more polished appearance, but as a rule, the choice comes down to personal taste and pragmatism. If you like the look of a dessert made with blanched hazelnuts, by all means go ahead and blanch them. If you're making a homelier recipe, such as muffins, where the brown skins make little difference, feel free to skip that step. Blanching has minimal effect on the nuts' flavor or texture, and serves only to remove the small amount of fiber the skins lend to your finished dish.