Small Piedmontese dictionary of the hazelnut

Piccolo dizionario piemontese della nocciola

The dialect is a language that is fading away, losing its speakers from generation to generation. It’s such a pity considering the enormous wealth it possesses. The Piedmontese dialect, especially the one spoken in Alta Langa, has developed lots of common sayings and words that describe the hazelnut.

Before we go back to the store we want to give you a small dictionary of the hazelnut. Musical and ancient words, full of meanings, here they are.

Bitin: suckers
Rubia: when it starts to mature and tends to brownish.
Farloca: empty.
Granà: phenological phase in which the kernel is as big as a wheat seed.
Maloca: shell that encloses the hazelnut: in clusters from two to five.
Nisurin: wild hazelnut plant.
Spricì: shriveled.
Garij: kernel.