Discovering local nuts

This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook

Still marginal in Quebec, local nut growing nevertheless has great potential. Several species of nut trees—the black walnut, some hazelnuts and the oval hickory, to name a few—are very resistant to our harsh winters, in addition to producing tasty nuts, valuable plant proteins whose aromas have nothing to do with the imported products usually found in supermarkets.

The nuts that arrive from abroad after traveling thousands of kilometers are not always fresh. “They are often already rancid,” notes Maryse Bédard-Allaire, from Vergers Le Clan, established for just under 10 years in Montérégie and one of a handful of local nut producers. “We had to be ambitious,” she agrees. At the time [en 2016]it was very emerging in Quebec, even if there were already a few producers in business. Even today, the market for local nuts remains very little exploited.

It’s not for nothing: growing walnuts requires patience. A lot of patience. “Before having a first harvest of black walnuts, you have to wait about ten years,” calculates Marc-Olivier Harvey, from the Casse-Noisette nursery, which specializes in the production of rare tree seedlings and nut trees. “The same goes for the Japanese walnut, which produces heart nuts, and even up to 15 years for oval hickory nuts and pine nuts.” The fastest? The hybrid hazelnut, he answers, a sort of large shrub obtained by crossing American hazelnuts and European or Asian cultivars.

All the nut trees listed above, as well as chestnut trees, grow without problem in the southern regions of the province, while long-beaked hazelnuts, also known as hazel trees, are said to be hardy up to zone 2, from Abitibi to the Côte-Nord, including Lac-Saint-Jean.

From tree to plate

Harvested from mid-August (certain species of hazelnuts) to mid-October (black walnut), Quebec walnuts are worth discovering and can be prepared in several sauces.

To jazz up a simple salad, for example, simply add crushed black walnut kernels, a very aromatic nut that surprises the taste buds with its hint of blue cheese. Marc-Olivier Harvey admits to having a weakness for oval hickory nuts, with their caramel aromas, which offer a local alternative to the traditional pecan pie (which do not grow in our latitudes).

More accessible and versatile, Nordic hazelnuts, whether plain or roasted, lend themselves to multiple sweet and savoury preparations. They can be added to granola or transformed into a decadent homemade nut butter for breakfast. Hazelnuts are also used to make a deliciously flavoured oil. The Cargo restaurant in Matane adds a drizzle of Quebec hazelnut oil to enhance its seaweed pesto pasta dish. More proof, if any were needed, of the growing interest in local nuts!

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This content was produced by the Special Publications Team of Dutyrelevant to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part in it.

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