08.12.2025 22:36
In the Alaplı district of Zonguldak, hazelnut producers have turned to modern roasting facilities instead of roasting their snack hazelnuts at home after the season ended. Producers, who sold the majority of their harvested crop, are also delivering hundreds of kilos of hazelnuts they have left to professional facilities. Murat Karahan, an operator who has been engaged in the hazelnut roasting business for about a year in the district, stated that the demand is increasing every day, saying, "Every day, kilos of hazelnuts are coming in. Once someone comes, they come again."
In the past, the roasted hazelnuts cooked on the stove have been replaced by hygienic roasting processes carried out in state-of-the-art machines today. The hazelnuts roasted in modern facilities are vacuum-packed and delivered to producers to ensure they can be stored for a long time without spoiling.
"ONCE A CUSTOMER, ALWAYS A CUSTOMER"
In the facilities located in the Alaplı district of Zonguldak, the demand has reached its peak. Murat Karahan, an entrepreneur who has been engaged in hazelnut roasting for about a year in the district, stated that the demand is increasing every day, saying, "It has been a year since we started this business. Citizens bring their own hazelnuts to be roasted. We are trying to keep up with the demand. There is a seasonal intensity; every day, kilograms of hazelnuts are coming in. Once a customer comes, they come back again; the returns are very good," he said.
"THEY CAN RECEIVE IT NO EARLIER THAN 3 DAYS LATER"
Karahan reminded that citizens used to experience both time and product loss while processing hazelnuts at home in the past, stating that habits have completely changed with technology. He mentioned that the workload is intense and they cannot keep up with the demand, saying, "In the past, people would break as many hazelnuts as they would eat in the evening and roast them on the stove, but they often burned them. That hassle is over now. They bring their hazelnuts to us, and they receive them clean and in the way they want. The demand has increased so much that a citizen who leaves their hazelnuts at the facility can receive their product no earlier than 3 days later," he said.
"CAN BE STORED FOR A LONG TIME IN 1 KILOGRAM, HALF KILOGRAM, OR 250 GRAM PACKAGES"
Karahan described the services provided at their facility as follows: "In our business, which is based on hazelnut cracking, we perform cracking, roasting, grinding, and vacuuming processes for the hazelnuts that citizens produce themselves. Previously, everyone was struggling at home, but now there is no need for that. Here, in a more hygienic environment, we process their hazelnuts in the way they want using state-of-the-art technology machines. Additionally, we grind for those who want, and those who wish can have their hazelnuts vacuum-packed in 1-kilogram, half-kilogram, or 250-gram packages to store them for a long time," he said.