# Hazelnut vs Filbert **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 18, 2006, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117 "2006-09-18T00:14:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/1 "2006-09-18T00:14:34Z")
Grinders vs po’ boys vs hoagies Soda vs pop vs coke Regionalisms, those, I know- but how about hazelnut vs filbert? I grew up calling them filberts, almost everyone I know now calls them hazelnuts. Is it regional (western NY)… Generational (I was a kid in late '60s and 70s)… European- my parent were immigrants from Eastern Europe? So, Dopers- what do you call them? ---
**Author:** ![Mithril](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mithril/32/3517_2.png) [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/2 "2006-09-18T00:31:19Z")
I grew up in New England in the 1980s. They were filberts to me. Actually, I was making a hazelnut cake last year and didn’t learn that they are the same thing until I read the back of a bag of hazelnuts. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/3 "2006-09-18T00:37:10Z")
SoCal native. I called them filberts when I was growing up. This is because they were always in the ‘fancy nut mix’ and listed as such. I don’t think it was until the '80s when Frangelico came out that I heard them called hazelnuts. Now that seems to be the common term for them, and I never hear of ‘filberts’. (But then, I don’t buy the nut mixes much.) ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/4 "2006-09-18T00:38:49Z")
These replies make me happy- I’m not nuts, er, crazy, after all. We did call them filberts once upon a time, we did! ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/5 "2006-09-18T00:54:19Z")
I learned that they were called “hazelnuts” if they grew wild, and they were called “filberts” if they came from cultivated trees. But, in practice, I always called them “hazelnuts.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen the word “filbert” on a candy wrapper, ice cream menu, etc. I don’t know why. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/6 "2006-09-18T00:54:54Z")
I also grew up in western NY, but during the 80s and 90s, and know them as filberts too. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/7 "2006-09-18T00:57:15Z")
There’s a local candy store known for their chocolate covered nuts that calls them filberts. That’s the only place I’ve ever seen them sold under that name. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/8 "2006-09-18T00:59:32Z")
Filbert’s funny! What with Dogbert, Wally, and the Pointy Haired Boss, it’s still one of the funnier comic strips. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/9 "2006-09-18T01:46:44Z")
> [@](#): > > The most commonly accepted explanation is because hazelnuts mature on or around St. Philibert’s Day, August 20. Other historians believe the term filbert derives from the German vollbart meaning full beard, a reference to the appearance of the husked shell. Although the current definition of filbert tends to refer to commercial cultivated crops of hazelnuts, the terms hazelnut and filbert are generally used interchangeably. Hazelnuts are also known as cobnuts in some areas. Other experts claim these are all different varieties of the nut, but once shelled, they are quite difficult to tell apart. > > [http://homecooking.about.com/cs/nuts/a/hazelnut.htm](http://homecooking.about.com/cs/nuts/a/hazelnut.htm) There was some distinction between the tree and the nut, but the Oregon hazelnut growers banded together to get the whole shebang called “hazelnut.” Since most US hazelnuts are now grown in the Northwest, the Oregon growers have some clout. . If you say “filbert” out here, you may be corrected.However, there’s still a Filbert Festival in Springfield, Oregon. If you haven’t had [Hazelnut Hill’s](http://www.hazelnuthill.com/index.html) hazelnut brittle, you haven’t lived. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/10 "2006-09-18T02:45:21Z")
I grew up calling them herbies. This is because one of my older brothers misunderstood his parents when they told him the nuts they were eating were called filberts. He started calling them little herbies and it stuck. I did know they were filberts, officially, but I never heard of them being hazelnuts until I was fully adult, in fact until about fifteen or twenty years ago. I thought hazelnuts and filberts were completely different things. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/11 "2006-09-18T02:49:08Z")
They’re two different nuts?!? Some ignorance fought here… I’ve heard the term Filberts, but always thought they were a different nut. I use the term ‘hazelnuts’ ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/12 "2006-09-18T02:58:28Z")
I’m with LUNA on the short bus. I had no idea until this thread that hazelnuts and filberts were the same things. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/13 "2006-09-18T03:10:52Z")
I have six hazelnut trees in my yard (lots of squirrels and birds too). Both names are used around here, w/ hazelnut probably getting the edge. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/14 "2006-09-18T04:20:13Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] There was some distinction between the tree and the nut, but the Oregon hazelnut growers banded together to get the whole shebang called “hazelnut.” Since most US hazelnuts are now grown in the Northwest, the Oregon growers have some clout. . If you say “filbert” out here, you may be corrected.However, there’s still a Filbert Festival in Springfield, Oregon. If you haven’t had [Hazelnut Hill’s](http://www.hazelnuthill.com/index.html) hazelnut brittle, you haven’t lived. [/QUOTE] Hmm, I grewup in Oregon, as did both my parents, and they were always filberts in our house. 'Course I didn’t pay a huge amount of attention, I was (and am) deathly allergic to the little devil seeds. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/15 "2006-09-18T11:03:27Z")
[QUOTE=Roderick Femm] Hmm, I grewup in Oregon, as did both my parents, and they were always filberts in our house. 'Course I didn’t pay a huge amount of attention, I was (and am) deathly allergic to the little **devil seeds**. [/QUOTE] [Quote=thirdwarning] I grew up calling them **herbies**. [/quote] New name options!? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/16 "2006-09-18T11:43:26Z")
Filberts are a specific variety of hazelnut (at least, they are in my books) - one with larger, more oblong nuts. Hazelnuts are smaller and round. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/17 "2006-09-18T13:00:30Z")
I learned the name “filbert” from Mother who hailed from Tennessee. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/18 "2006-09-18T21:26:55Z")
[QUOTE=IvoryTowerDenizen] Grinders vs po’ boys vs hoagies Soda vs pop vs coke Regionalisms, those, I know- but how about hazelnut vs filbert? I grew up calling them filberts, almost everyone I know now calls them hazelnuts. Is it regional (western NY)… Generational (I was a kid in late '60s and 70s)… European- my parent were immigrants from Eastern Europe? So, Dopers- what do you call them? [/QUOTE] Aren’t fiberts and hazelnuts merely relatives and are not actually the same thing. Much like how sweet potatoes and yams are not really the same things. Wasabi is not really horseradish. etc. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/19 "2006-09-19T20:27:55Z")
[Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazel) has a rather informative article about the hazel family, including a breakdown of how the different members are grouped and identified. Per Wikipedia: The species of hazel are grouped as follows: **Nut surrounded by a soft, leafy involucre. Multi-stemmed, suckering shrubs to 12m tall.** Involucre short, about the same length as the nut. - ``` Corylus americana* - American Hazel, from eastern North America ``` - ``` Corylus avellana* - Common Hazel, from Europe, north Africa and west Asia ``` - ``` Corylus heterophylla* - Asian Hazel, from Asia ``` Involucre long, twice the length of the nut or more, forming a ‘beak’. - ``` Corylus cornuta *- Beaked Hazel, of North America ``` - ``` Corylus maxima *- Filbert, of southeastern Europe and southwest Asia ``` - ``` Corylus sieboldiana* - Asian Beaked Hazel, from northeastern Asia and Japan ``` \*\* Nut surrounded by a stiff, spiny involucre. Single-stemmed trees. \*\* Involucre moderately spiny and also with glandular hairs. Large trees to 35m tall. - ``` Corylus colurna* - Turkish Hazel, from southeastern Europe and Asia Minor ``` - ``` Corylus jacquemontii* - Jacquemont's Hazel, from the Himalaya ``` - ``` Corylus chinensis *- Chinese Hazel, from West China ``` Involucre densely spiny, resembling a chestnut burr. Medium-size trees to 20m tall. - ``` Corylus ferox* - Himalayan Hazel, from the Himalaya. ``` - ``` Corylus tibetica *- Tibetan Hazel, from Tibet and southwest China. ``` Or, to answer the answer the OP’s actual question, I always have hear them called hazelnuts. I have to think for a second about what a filbert is. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazelnut-vs-filbert/373117/20 "2006-09-19T21:46:25Z")
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