Ferrero, the company that makes Nutella and spreads joy across the world, currently uses about one-fourth of the world’s hazelnut supply. As prices rise, more farmers around the world have begun growing hazelnuts. But it wasn’t possible to do so in the northeastern region of the U.S. – until now…”All the green leafy things you see here are hazelnut trees. But in the beginning, they all used to die from disease,” says Thomas Molnar, a Rutgers plant scientist who is in charge of this effort. About 10 years ago, though, a plant breeder at Rutgers named C. Reed Funk embarked on a quest for hazelnut trees that could survive Eastern Filbert Blight.
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Thanks To Nutella, The World Needs More Hazelnuts
Nutella, that sinfully indulgent chocolate-hazelnut spread, turns 50 this year, and it’s come a long way, baby…And now, one can even find a few hazelnuts in the Northeastern United States, where they’ve never been successfully grown before. They’re standing in a Rutgers University research farm, an oasis of orchards tucked in between highways, just outside New Brunswick, N.J. “All the green leafy things you see here are hazelnut trees. But in the beginning, they all used to die from disease,” says Thomas Molnar, a Rutgers plant scientist who is in charge of this effort.
Breeding Hazelnuts for Emerging Markets
Tom Molnar continues groundbreaking research of the late C. Reed Funk. Apart from the blueberry and cranberry, many of New Jersey’s major crops are not native to the state. Perennial favorites like peaches, tomatoes, corn, eggplant, and peppers have actually been adapted and bred for suitability to our climate and growing conditions. New Jersey’s commercial […]
