The earliest evidence of the use of hazelnuts in Piedmont to produce oil dates back to the Bronze Age. Analyses carried out on artefacts from Piedmontese funerary contexts have revealed the presence of lipid substances compatible with those naturally found in hazelnuts, suggesting that hazelnuts may have been used both in ritual practices and for food. The hazel is, in fact, one of the most widespread shrub species in the Piedmontese territory since prehistoric times, providing a valuable food resource for hunter-gatherer communities.
Later, the Celtic populations who inhabited what is now Piedmont, a territory the Romans called Cisalpine Gaul, also regarded hazelnuts and the oil extracted from them as an important food resource, thanks to the widespread presence of hazel trees throughout the area and the availability of their fruit.
Hazelnut Oil or Olive Oil? Which Oil Was Used in Piedmont?
Between the 16th and 18th centuries, particularly in rural and mountainous areas of Piedmont, everyday diets relied on resources available locally. Alongside animal fats, oils obtained from nuts were also used, particularly hazelnut oil and walnut oil.
Although olive trees had been cultivated in some suitable areas of Piedmont since the Middle Ages, production remained limited, and olive oil, including oil brought in from nearby Liguria, was intended for other uses and, also for economic reasons, was not the main choice in traditional rural cuisine.
Furthermore, in the winter of 1709, a historic cold wave struck much of Europe, severely damaging olive groves in Liguria as well as those in Piedmont. The resulting reduction in the availability of oil contributed to a sharp rise in prices.
This event also contributed to the gradual decline of olive cultivation in Piedmont.
For these reasons, hazelnut oil came to be widely used in Piedmontese cuisine, thanks to the availability of hazel trees and their fruit, which were easily accessible and more affordable.
Olive oil only became firmly established in Piedmontese cuisine at a later time.
Hazelnut Oil and the Second World War
Its more recent history takes us back to the Second World War and the introduction of the ration card, introduced in Italy along with other restrictive measures linked to the war.
In January 1940, Italian citizens were informed of the Government's decision to provide the population with a personal document containing a set number of coupons, which could be used to purchase foodstuffs on specified days and in predetermined quantities. The ongoing war made supplies from across the Mediterranean increasingly difficult, making food rationing necessary: sugar and coffee were among the first products to be restricted.
Within the following months, rationing soon affected virtually all goods needed to meet everyday needs, including soap, clothing and edible fats. The latter were rationed at 500 grams per person per month.
Producers and merchants were required to declare the quantities of olive oil, butter, lard and other animal fats they produced. At the same time, the government imposed compulsory agricultural stockpiling, requiring farmers to deliver their harvests at a state-controlled price to warehouses controlled by the regime, in order to ensure the country's food supply.
The Return of Hazelnut Oil
This desperate wartime situation, made even more difficult by an agricultural reality already severely strained, was decisive in bringing hazelnut oil back into use, once again coming to people's aid as it had in the past.
Ingenuity and resourcefulness did the rest!
And so it was that the most resourceful Piedmontese farmers, strictly at night and away from prying eyes, met their need for edible fats by extracting oil from hazelnuts using small homemade presses.
The simple dishes available on their tables were thus enriched with this precious vegetable oil.
It is therefore not surprising that many dishes from Piedmontese cuisine, such as Carne cruda all'Albese, Ravioli del Plin and Bagna Cauda, to name just a few, in versions most faithful to the traditions of the old rural cuisine, may have involved the use of an oil so deeply rooted in the history of Piedmont as hazelnut oil.
Sources and Further Reading
The historical information presented on this page is based on research, bibliographic documentation, testimonies, and memories of Piedmontese family and rural traditions passed down through generations. Below are some of the main sources consulted, together with references for further exploration of the topics discussed.
- Piedmont Regional Council – Piedmont Regional Library “Umberto Eco”, Premio Gianni Oberto 2019-2020, Antonina Efimova, L'archeologia preistorica Piemontese e la divulgazione multimediale: Il documentario "I primi in Piemonte".
- Elena Poletti Ecclesia, A tavola con i Galli della Cisalpina. I dati dell'archeologia sull'alimentazione nell'età del Ferro
- Alessandro Carassale, L'olio per Genova. Reti di approvvigionamento e istituzioni annonarie nel XVIII secolo, Quaderni della Società Ligure di Storia Patria, n. 21, Genova, 2025
- Egle Penasso, testimony, memoria contadina, guerra, torchietto e olio di nocciola
- Baldaiassa, Memoria e tradizioni di famiglia
- Archivio Astigiani, Aglio, olio, acciughe: la storia si immerge nella Bagna Cauda.
- Bagna Cauda Day, Vademecum della Bagna Cauda 2016.