The Catholic reason hazelnuts are called filberts

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Zelda Caldwell - published on 08/20/17

We’re feeling a little nutty on the feast of St. Philibert.

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Why are hazelnuts, the key ingredient in Ferrero’s Nutella spread, also called “filberts”?

The answer may have to do with when they are ready to be harvested. In Europe, the prime time for harvesting hazelnuts falls on August 20, the feast day of St. Philibert, a Benedictine abbot and bishop who lived in France in the 7th century.

Other historians speculate that the name “filbert” refers to the hazelnut’s husked shell, which resembles a beard. The German word for “full beard” is vollbart, which may have sounded to English ears like “filbert.”