Turkish hazelnut is categorised into two in terms of quality, such as Giresun and Levant.
Giresun Quality: Fat hazelnuts grown in the entire province of Giresun and fat hazelnuts grown in Beşikdüzü, Vakfıkebir, Çarşıbaşı and Akçaabat towns of the province of Trabzon, which are more or less similar to Giresun quality. These are the highest quality hazelnuts in the world. These are the hazelnuts that have the highest level of skin separation among the types in the world.
Levant Quality: This is the common name given to all hazelnuts that are grown in regions other than the region of Giresun quality hazelnut. Called Levant Akçakoca, Levant Ordu, Levant Trabzon or Levant Samsun depending on the place they are grown, these hazelnuts have a lower level of fat than the Giresun quality hazelnuts but a higher level of fat than those grown in the other countries and a better taste.
In-Shell Hazelnuts
Round Hazelnuts: These are spherical hazelnuts with approximately the same length, width and thickness. These are of medium size and high quality.
They have high seed yields (efficiencies), as well as high fat and protein rates. All types that can be easily separated from skin and whitened belong to this group. They are easily broken because of their circular shapes.
In this group, Giresun Fat Hazelnut is the highest quality type in the world. Furthermore, Palaz, Mincane, Foşa, Kan, Çakıldak, Kara are in this group.
Pointed Hazelnuts: This is the type with the length a little longer than the width and the thickness. These hazelnuts produce more scrap when breaking. Therefore, they are mostly marketed in shells. They have types called Sivri and İncekara.
Almond Hazelnuts: This is the type with the length much longer than the width and the thickness. These are generally big and showy but have low quality. They are not legible for breaking and processing. They are consumed as snack, in shells and in undried form. They