Hazelnuts.

The French, strangely, have no generic name for Nuts.
I know we all were told that Noix was the French for nuts but I am afraid I must tell you it is not.
Despite all those affirmations given us in school there is no French word for a nut.

They have Noix for Walnuts, Noisettes for Hazelnuts, Amandes for Almonds, Cacahuette for Peanuts (or Arachides –confusingly- when made into oil)- none of which would they understand as being nuts.

But it is the versatility of the word Noisette which I want to talk about.

Today in a restaurant in Lunas, Sile asked for a Café with “just a tiny dash of milk”.
“Ah!” Said our waiter- “Une Noisette”
This arrived in perfect order (One should have known that the French would have a word for it)
But this in turn reminded me of the other uses of the word Noisette in cookery.

A dish in which the butter is gently browned is cooked with “Beurre Noisette.”

A dish of Lamb in which the cutlet is boned and bound around itself like a nut is calles a “Noisette d’Agneau”
That makes three terms named after it, not bad for a word which is only granted the distinction in French of being called a “ Little Walnut.”