HONEY & HAZELNUT SPREAD
"A wonderful Bibilical combination"

We at Holy Food Imports take to heart the fact that we are trying to inspire today's generation to once again appreciate the products of the Holy Land the way they were appreciated by the People of Israel in times past.  

Honey & Hazelnut spread is by far the smoothest of the food spreads of the Holy Land.  The combination of the two products gives rise to a buttery consistency which is so smooth and delightful that it is certain to bring smiles to the faces of your family.  Watch your children's reaction as they taste it for the first time!

What value did the People of Israel place upon the wonderful nuts which grow on bushes in the most arid soil of the Land of Israel?

When the sons of Jacob (renamed Israel by God) asked permission to go down to the land of Egypt so that they might purchase grain to feed their families in a time of great famine, Jacob gave his permission.  He then went on to instruct his sons to bring items of value with them so that they might trade what was of value to them for items needed by them.  

And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:

Even during times of war, God warns the Israelites,

"When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees.  .  .  Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city? Only trees that you know do not yield food may be destroyed"

God set special rules regarding the harvesting of fruit and nut trees as well:

"When you enter the land [of Israel] and plant any tree for food, you shall regard its fruit as forbidden.  Three years it shall be forbidden for you, not to be eaten"

The fruit of the fourth year was to be offered to the priests in the Temple as a gift of gratitude for the bounty of the land, and the fifth-year fruit--and all subsequent fruit--was finally for the farmer.  

Do we believe that Hazelnuts were in the Holy Land by accident? We think not! Recent information only now "discovered" by science, is that the Hazelnut is one of the most important foods to support good health that one can find today, and certainly would have been one of those most important foods back then.  

Depending on the cultivar, hazelnut contains 55-72% fat, 10-22% protein, 5-7% diary fiber, 5-6% water, 3-11% assimilated carbohydrates, and 2-3% minerals.  

The Hazelnut is very rich with vitamin E, but it also contains vitamins B1 and B2, as well as vitamins D and C, but in a lesser degree.  Regarding the minerals, hazelnut contains potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iodine, iron, chlorine and many micro-elements.  Energy value is 600 cal/100g of kernel.  

The Hazelnut is highly nutritive, and as such is essential in human nutrition.  It can be used unprocessed, raw.  It is rich with fat and proteins, which is very beneficial for people, but also very rare, since fat and protein-containing food usually has to be cooked or thermally treated in other ways.  Apart from that, it is useful for the convalescents, the people suffering from low blood pressure, the anemic, and is good for heartburn.  

If the future is bringing more concern for the health and unprocessed food, then it goes without saying that hazelnut will be more and more present on our menu.  It is also of great significance for the vegetarians, since they have to compensate the lack of meat in their nutrition.  

As a health concern, many people need to reduce their risk for heart disease.  The FDA claimed "consuming just 1.5 ounces of hazelnuts per day may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease" as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol.  Doctors at a Boston, MA hospital conducted a health study which concluded that "men who consumed nuts twice or more in a week had a 47% lower risk of sudden cardiac (heart attack) death, and 30% lower risk of coronary heart disease death.  "

CANCERTaxol® is the brand name for paclitaxel, the anti-cancer drug marketed by Bristol- Myers Squibb, and used as a mainstay in the treatment of breast cancer and ovarian cancer.  Until now, the Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia Nutt.  , Taxaceae ) and the needles of other Taxus species were the main sources of paclitaxel, and it was not generally known that the substance could be found outside Taxaceae.  In A recent presentation to the American Chemical Society in San Francisco, March 29, 2000, Sister Angela Hoffman, O.S.B.  , Ph.D.  , announced that she had found quantities of paclitaxel in at least 12 species of hazelnut trees and at least eight species of fungus associated with hazelnut trees.  The Gasaway, Halls Giant, Lewis, and Willamette varieties of hazelnut produce the most paclitaxel.  They are all C.  avellana varieties.  

Sister Hoffman, associate professor of chemistry and physics at the University of Portland, Oregon, said, "All the fungi that make Taxol® are associated with healthy plants.  " The best producers among the fungi are still being identified, but for now have been named UP-H4, UP-H5, UP-H10, and UP-H12, according to Hoffman.  "Fungal sources for Taxol® would be very convenient if production can be enhanced enough to make it cost effective.  Extraction and purification steps for fungal-grown Taxol® are less complex.  "

Hoffman said, in her presentation, "This is potentially good news for cancer patients.  " Because hazelnut trees are now known to provide another source for the drug, it could become less expensive and more available.  The research team found paclitaxel in the nuts, shells, leaves, limbs, and bark of the hazelnut tree.