Question: are hickory nuts and hazelnuts the same thing?
Answer: Differences in the Nuts Hazelnuts are easy to crack, and have round, sweet kernels. The solid, grape-sized nuts grow inside a smooth, hard shell. ... Hickory nuts look like small walnuts. The sweet, divided and folded nutmeat is surrounded by a hard, rough shell which is in turn encased in a 1/4-inch thick husk.