100 ML - Italy

Hazelnut Oil-The Perfume of Piedmont

How the Chef's use it. Scroll down.

In the food industry we see a lot of "hot" trends. But more often than not, those trends go from hot to not in the flick of a fork. Hot trends can cool fast when the market gets diluted with cheap imitations and bad knock-offs. (Just think about the proliferation of "balsamic vinegar" over the last twenty years...) Well, the same fate has befallen hazelnut oil.

Once a very rare commodity with small
production numbers, I've now seen hazelnut oil in the supermarket that I wouldn't grease my bike chain with. The smell is unpleasant, the taste is rancid, and the likelyhood that it is a pure, natural hazelnut oil is slight to none. So many solvents and chemicals are used in the production of these oils that they can barely pass as foodstuff - and I recommend you take a pass on them as well.

There are your middle-of-the-road hazelnut oils in the mix as well. Perhaps less processed but still blended with lower-quality oils to prevent the notoriously delicate hazelnut oil from breaking down. The favor is faint and disappears completely when married with other foods... a disappointing end to what should be an excellent addition to a dish.

It turns out there is a hazelnut oil out there blowing the minds of some very special chefs.

Pariani Hazelnut Oil tastes just as it should - like a mouthful of an Autumn afternoon. Like toasted sunlight. It is a full, round-favored, and both floral and herbaceous. The flavor is front and center, never giving up its spotlight to other foods. It's the result of a passionate love affair between a student of Agriculture and a hillside of perfect hazelnuts.

about the producer
By returning to the Italian tradition of using only Tonda Gentile delle Langhe hazelnuts, harvesting only those that grow in full sun, and pressing both roasted and unroasted hazelnuts in very small batches with painstaking precision, Mattia Pariani has restored the good name of this cherished food the Piedmontese call Il Nocciolico.

This peerless oil is indelible drizzled over greens, its most common use in its native region. It's also used by many chefs as a finishing favor on cold raw meats like carpaccio or tartare. Sample a small drop on each of your best gnocchi, or brush the tops of your favorite warm pastry with it. Best used in small amounts as a finishing flavor rather than a cooking oil, this small bottle is an absolute treasure.

serving suggestions

- Chef Paul Canales at Oliveto and Chef Staffan Terje at Perbacco both mentioned using the oil on Risotto.

- Perfect on Scallops, Pork Chops or beef Carpaccio.

- Chef Claudio with the Intercontinental in Scottsdale AZ use just a small drizzle in butternut squash soup.

- Perfect finish on grilled summer peaches

- Chef Zach Allen of Carne Vino/B and B Ristorante uses it on thinly sliced beef and sunchokes

- Chef Zach of Carne Vino use it on ricotta cheese - paired with truffle.

- Try it on delicate salads with chopped hazelnuts, or on chocolate ice cream or gelato.