MCT: Cobnut? Traditional Cache
heartstones1: To make way for the Mega 2024 series
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(small)
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120ml container.
For once, I had taken a tree identification book with me when placing the caches. I thought that it was a hazel tree. However, it could be a Kentish Cob Nut tree.
A Kentish cobnut is a type of hazelnut. Most of the hazelnuts grown in Britain are of the named variety Kentish Cob, which was introduced in the early 19th century, but growers are now beginning to plant other varieties too. However, they all taste relatively similar - more similar than different varieties of apple for example.
More cobnuts are grown in Kent than anywhere else, but there are commercial producers in several other countries too.
Cobnuts are marketed fresh, not dried like most other nuts such as walnuts and almonds. Consequently they can usually only be bought when in season, typically from about the middle of August through to October, although stored nuts may be kept until Christmas. At the beginning of the season the husks are green and the kernels particularly juicy. Nuts harvested later on have brown shells and husks, and the full flavour of the kernel has developed.
Cobnuts were popular with mariners, as they kept fresh for months, and the Victorians were devoted to them and bred many new kinds. In 1913, plantations extended to over 7,000 acres, most of the orchards or “plats” being in Kent. Stored nuts were available from London wholesalers for most of the year, and fetched high prices. However, today, 200 - 250 acres of old plats survive, but new orchards are once again being planted, of Kentish Cob as well as other hazelnut varieties. Fortunately cobnuts are not prone to pests and diseases, and there is rarely any commercial need for crop protectants or fertilisers; many growers use none at all. The crop is picked by hand.
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