The evaluation of mechanical properties of hazelnuts has been developed over the past years mainly to optimize industrial processes. The aim of this study is to reproduce the compressive behavior of hazelnut kernel obtained by experimental and numerical activities; the contribution of pellicle influence to the mechanical behavior is also analyzed. The experimental activity is aimed to measure the mechanical properties of hazelnut kernel and to obtain a model calibration based on experimental data analyzed by statistical approach. The finite element models of hazelnut kernels are implemented and a set of numerical compression tests are simulated; the comparison of experimental and numerical responses is shown. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.