> Features

Ingredient focus - cobnuts

Ingredient focus - cobnuts

by Sally Abé 09 September 2015

Once a British favourite, cobnuts all but disappeared from the landscape in the twentieth century but now they are making a comeback thanks to a new wave of chefs championing British ingredients.

More from this series:

Cobnuts are a cultivated version of the wild hazelnut and generally hail from Kent. Wild hazelnuts have grown in the UK since medieval times but the cobnut was cultivated in the nineteenth century and was popular with the Victorians being used to make ice cream and, strangely enough, omelettes. There were once 7,000 acres of cobnut trees around the UK grown on farms known as ‘plats’ but their popularity declined during the twentieth century. Fortunately cobnuts are now back in fashion and are being championed as a true Great British food. 2014 was a bumper year for cobnuts and 2015 looks set to be the same if the grey squirrels don’t beat us to it – cobnuts are their favourite food!

Flavour profile

The flavour and smell of the cobnut when fresh is most commonly associated with that of the coconut, ‘green’ yet nutty. Raw cobnuts also have a somewhat fruity citrus note to them with some acidity which we are unable to smell but makes up part of the flavour.

When roasted, the flavour of the cobnut changes into earthiness with hints of caramel, popcorn and malt which makes them great for desserts; think of the Italian chocolate Gianduia for comparison.

image
Aroma wheel courtesy of Foodpairing.com

Food matches

The coconut aroma can also be found in cheeses which make cobnuts a welcome addition to any cheeseboard or try something more sophisticated such as a Cheese and onion soup with a cobnut tuile to replace the regular toasted bread.

The green aromas in the cobnuts make the link to ingredients such as cucumber, pumpkin, ginger, chicken and peas. Peas and cobnuts are great paired together in a salad. Look to Adam Gray’s Scallop salad with cobnuts for inspiration.

The caramel-like aromas of roasted cobnuts bring out the best in baked fish and meat, but also in soy sauce, coffee, bread or even in pan-fried seafood such as shrimps and langoustines. Try a nicely roasted plaice with apple, celeriac and lemon grass.

The citrus note in the cobnut can be matched to that in chocolate, basil and cardamom making them all good matches in a dish. Try this chocolate dessert with cobnut, physalis, cardamom and basil or use cobnuts in Josh Eggleton’s Hazelnut, caramel and sesame mousse cake with malt ice cream.

Beef bouillon with onion, gruyère and cobnut
by Peter Coucquyt
Chocolate cobnut and physalis tart with basil ice cream
by Peter Coucquyt

Did you know?

Cobnuts get their name from the word ‘cob’ that in the 16th century meant to throw lightly – children used to play a game called coblenut in which they would try and knock over rows of nuts.

In the 19th century, a man was sentenced to 6 weeks hard labour for stealing 33 pounds of cobnuts from a farm near Mereworth.

Before refrigeration was widely available, people would bury cobnuts in the ground in pots and tins in order to preserve them for the winter months.

Brought to you by foodpairing.com

Comments ()

Ingredient focus - cobnuts

 

Please enter text

Comments must be less than characters

Change your username in user settings to something more personal.

 

(Editing)

>

This comment was edited

Please enter text

Comments must be less than characters

Reply | | Edit | Delete Report

This comment has been deleted

Report this comment

Please state your report in the space below

Please enter text

Reports must be less than 750 characters

loading

>

Please enter text

Comments must be less than characters

(Editing)

>

This comment was edited

Please enter text

Comments must be less than characters

Reply | | Edit | Delete Report

This comment has been deleted

Report this comment

Please state your report in the space below

Please enter text

Reports must be less than 750 characters

loading

>

Please enter text

Comments must be less than characters

Be the first to leave a comment on this page...
...   ...
 

Please enter text

Comments must be less than characters

Change your username in user settings to something more personal.

 

You may also like

Ingredient focus - cobnuts
Cobnut
Recipe Collection
Burnt apples with goat's curd, cobnut and watercress
by Paul Foster
Fresh curds and watercress, pickled kohlrabi, tantan lettuce and cobnuts
by Simon Rogan
Beef bouillon with onion, gruyère and cobnut
by Peter Coucquyt
Chocolate cobnut and physalis tart with basil ice cream
by Peter Coucquyt
Strawberries with cobnuts and fennel
by Adam Stokes
Scallop salad with cobnuts
by Adam Gray
An A–Z of Britain's historic ingredients
by Great British Chefs
12 British ingredients to forage
by Great British Chefs
Plaice with celeriac, apple and lemongrass purée and cobnut foam
by Peter Coucquyt
Gluten-free mince pies with damson and cobnuts
by Victoria Glass
Cobnut and apple tart
by Regula Ysewijn
Hedgerow – pressed apple with elderberry sorbet and cobnut crumble
by Graham Garrett
Green salad
Recipe Collection
Michelin star
Recipe Collection
Michelin star starter
Recipe Collection
Spiced lentil, nut and vegetable roast
by Hari Ghotra
Spiced pecan butter
by Pollyanna Coupland
Cranberry hazelnut butter
by Pollyanna Coupland
Dukkah hazelnut butter
by Pollyanna Coupland
Rose almond butter
by Pollyanna Coupland
Vegan chocolate and cashew nut butter
by Urvashi Roe
The best dairy alternatives for a vegan diet
by David and Charlotte Bailey
Wood pigeon with cobnuts
by Alan Murchison
Raw super seed energy boosters
by Henrietta Inman
Peanut
Recipe Collection
Pistachio
Recipe Collection
Walnut
Recipe Collection
Chestnut
Recipe Collection
Hazelnut
Recipe Collection
Almond
Recipe Collection
Pine nut
Recipe Collection
Christmas Eve
Recipe Collection
Afternoon tea
Recipe Collection
Macadamia nuts with black olives
by Martin Wishart
Coffee porter, malt and pecan
by Lee Westcott
Pecan pie
by Andy McLeish
Best end and shoulder of salt marsh lamb, red pepper, pineapple, mint oil and cobnuts
by Matt Gillan
Warm plum clafoutis with crème fraiche sorbet
by Stephen Crane
Vanilla cheesecake with blackberries and mint compote
by Shaun Rankin
Fermented blood orange, whipped ricotta, walnut butter and radicchio salad
by Chantelle Nicholson
Ricotta pancakes with strawberry compote and homemade chocolate spread
by Chantelle Nicholson
Sticky pecan buns
by Helen Graves
Mushroom and chestnut pâté with tarragon and fermented cranberries
by Pollyanna Coupland
Chestnut pasta
by Monica Shaw
Spongata di Natale – Italian Christmas cake
by Nancy Anne Harbord
Almond
Recipe Collection
Pine nut
Recipe Collection
Chestnut flour: Tuscany’s secret ingredient
by Giulia Scarpaleggia

NAVIGATE

© Great British Chefs 2018