National Hazelnut Cake Day – June 1, 2024

History of National Hazelnut Cake Day

References to hazelnuts are frequent in the Bible as well as ancient Greek and Roman mythology in which they were believed to have healing powers. Pliny the Elder, a Roman scholar in the 1st century A.D, and Greek philosopher and teacher of botany Theophrastus (born in around 370 B.C.), both wrote extensively about hazelnuts.

In America, in the pre-European era, native tribes utilized hazelnuts that grew in the eastern woodlands and Oregon and California. Roasted hazelnuts were used for oils and eating raw. The milk of the hazelnut was used for medicinal purposes, like curing coughs and colds. The roots were used to make a blue dye for fabrics, while the branches were used for arrow shafts, basketry, and more.

The arrival of domestic hazelnuts in America took place with the immigration of Europeans to the U.S. A commercial nursery for hazelnut trees was established by Robert Prince in Flushing in 1737. This was after Lewis and Clark brought back specimens of native hazelnuts from their expedition, which were the very specimens that were grown by Prince in his nursery. The legacy of American hazelnuts began in Scottsburg, Oregon, in 1856. Retired English sailor Sam Strickland settled in Douglas County where he planted the first known hazelnut tree in the Pacific Northwest. And now, 160 years later, Oregon is known for the world’s finest hazelnuts.

Hazelnuts are known by several names, including Pontic, filbert, and cobnuts. They are native to the Northern and Southeastern U.S., along with in the Midwest and Canada.