nuts have always been a reliable food and nutritional source in the diet of masculinity in the dark ages, even before the Greeks adopted agriculture to have superior food resources. Because there were far more forests back then than there are today, nuts were plentiful and popular because they were simple to store and could be kept for periods when food was scarce. (Winter, the wetter months, etc.)
The Romans were known to give out sugar almonds on significant events like weddings and births as early as the second century B.C.
Nearly every cuisine in the world uses nuts, and they are present in all cultures. People of all ages enjoy nuts for their mild flavour and high fat and carbohydrate content. Chefs enjoy this delicate flavour while developing new meals and variations.
DETAILS & SPECIES
We consider any type of seed, legume, or tuber to fall within the category of nuts. As an illustration, a peanut is a legume, a Brazil nut is a seed, a macadamia nut is a seed, and an almond is the seed of a fruit like a peach.
According to botany, nuts are single-seeded fruits having a hard or leathery outer shell and a soft inner skin that protects an edible kernel.
Most nut trees develop slowly but live a long time. Walnut, chestnut, and pecan trees continue to produce nuts, frequently for more than a century after planting.
Any species of nut tree can be found worldwide. While walnuts may be found anywhere from North America to the Andes and Persia to Australia, almonds can be found in California, Spain, Morocco, Italy, and even Australia. Nuts come in a wide range throughout Asia as well. Chinese ginkgo nuts, candle nuts from Indonesia and Malaysia, coconuts from all across southern Asia, cashew nuts from India, Malaysia, and the Philippines, chestnuts from China and Japan, and water chestnuts from China, Japan, Korea, and the East Indies.
CERTAIN BETTER KNOWN NUTS
ALMOND
Similar to cherries, peaches, and prunes, scientists classify almonds as stone fruits.
This fruit is typically thought of as a nut because the majority of people only have experience with its seed (stone).
On the tree, almonds resemble tiny green peaches. When the nut is ready, the shell will open to display it.
Almonds come in a variety of kinds.
The apricot kernel, which was discovered growing wild in China as early as the late Tang Dynasty, is what we know as the bitter almond (AD 619-907).
The apricot that was brought to Europe eventually developed into the fruit that is currently consumed all over the world. The deadly bitter almond kernel must be promptly cooked and poached in an oven before being utilised further. Chinese sweets like the almond bean curd use it a lot.
The sweet almond is typically only consumed fresh. Half of the world’s almond crop, or 70,000 tonnes, was produced in California alone in 1986. The almond tree is still found growing wild in Algeria and the region surrounding the Black Sea. It has been grown in the Mediterranean region since ancient times. You can get sweet almonds whole, shelled, flaked, blanched, slivered ground roasted or salted, sliced in half with skin or without skin, and cut in half. In addition to being used to make liqueur essence, oil, and cosmetic items, they are also utilised to make appetisers, marzipan, confections, and sweets.
PINE NUT BUNYA BUNYA
Nearly all of Australia is home to the bunya bunya tree, a member of the pine family. The trees’ original home was in Queensland, Australia, near Brisbane and Rockhampton. A 2 cm x 2.5 cm nut is only produced by female trees and is found inside pinecones.
The bunya bunya pine nuts were a staple diet for the Aboriginal people in earlier times, and they were also used ceremonially. Due to the rise in popularity of Australian bush food in recent years, nuts are becoming more and more popular nowadays.
The nut is used more like a potato than a nut because it is high in carbohydrates and is similar to a chestnut. Although the peel of the bunya bunya nuts can be easily removed by boiling them, they are commonly consumed raw. After being shelled, nuts are either added to stews and soups or butter-fried and sugar- or pepper-flavored.
BOPPLE NUT IN RED
The red bopple nut, a close relative of the macadamia nut, is indigenous to Australia’s East Coast’s tropical rain forest.
The nut has a thick (0.5 cm to 1 cm), woody husk with a vivid red outer skin that only shows when the nut is fully ripe. It is around the same size as a hazelnut.
The red bopple nut is far lower in fat than the majority of other nuts but significantly higher in calcium and potassium. This nut is particularly simple to digest due to its minimal fat content. Both raw and toasted nuts are consumed.
COCONUT
According to a proverb, “He who plants a coconut tree plants food and drink, containers and clothing, a home for himself and a legacy for his offspring.” Although the entire coconut is used, only the meat and milk of the coconut are edible. The shell is used to manufacture charcoal, the husk is used to make ropes, garments, and brushes, the tree trunk is used to form roofing for dwellings, and the leaves are used to make building materials.
The fruit of the “cocos nucifera” palm has an edible kernel, making it a nut. The palm tree is a native of the Philippines, Malaysia, Brazil, and Indonesia. It has a lifespan of 70 years and can produce 50–100 nuts annually. The production rate of coconut palms decreases as the tree grows farther from the sea; nonetheless, they have been shown to endure high altitudes. Coconut palms grow best near the beach.
A layer of delicate white flesh and clear water are located in the heart of a brown shell that is encased in a huge, thick, green pod. A nut produced by a subspecies that can only be found on one island in the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, can weigh more than 20 kg and take 10 years to maturity.
The most widely utilised nut in commerce worldwide is the coconut. In nations where coconuts are grown, the export industries depend heavily on the meat, or copra, as it is known after being sun dried. In particular, South East Asia, India, Brazil, and the South Pacific Islands depend heavily on the coconut as a food source.
Copra is used in confections, ice creams, and to coat poultry or fish for frying. It can be purchased dry or shredded. It is pressed for its oil, which is often known as coconut butter since it is white and greasy when left at room temperature. It is used in candles, soaps, detergents, shampoos, face cream, and margarine in addition to being used in cooking.
Additionally, glycerin, synthetic rubber, safety glass, and hydraulic braking fluid all contain significant amounts of it. The natural juice of the nut, not the water inside the coconut, is what is known as coconut juice or milk. The raw coconut meat is torn into pieces, water is added, and the mixture is strained through a cotton towel to win. The coconut milk is available in cans or frozen, and it has the same texture and colour as skim milk.
CLOVE NUT
The candle nut got its name because it was once employed as a crude candle when it was tightly threaded on the midrib of a palm leaf. More recently, a paste made from the nuts and copra (grated coconut meat) was combined, and the mixture was then shaped into a candle.
Candlenuts are the seeds of the candleberry tree, which is indigenous to Indonesia and Malaysia but has since spread far throughout Sri Lanka, South East Asia, and the South Pacific.
The nut is highly valued for the oil that can be produced from it and used for cooking and lighting. The nut is around 5 cm in diameter, grey to black in colour, and covered in a thin, papery husk that holds one or two nuts.
While oil for cooking is obtained by roasting the nuts when they are fully ripe, candlenut oil is obtained by roasting the nuts when they are only halfway ripe. The nuts must be roasted before being consumed by humans because eating them raw used to be unhealthy.
For use in curries or as a hot addition to curries, ripe candle nuts are first roasted, then ground into a meal and combined with salt, chilli powder, or shrimp paste. The Javanese have traditionally roasted the nuts for eating whole.
PEAR NUT
Most South East Asian countries’ native palmyra palms produce a firm, lustrous nut from which a sweetish sap or gel is collected. Although this sap is used in Indonesian soups and sweets, it is another well-known product that is made from the palmyra palm – the palm sugar – that is first manufactured (gula melacca).
The nutritional value of palm nuts is not well-documented, however it is well-known that the fat is saturated.
NUT OF MACADAMIA
The macadamia nut, which is indigenous to Australia’s Queensland and New South Wales, gets its name from Dr. John McAdam, an early proponent of its cultivation.
The macadamia trees can grow up to 20 metres tall and are evergreen. The 2–3 cm-diameter, extremely hard, light brown shell of the silk oat tree’s edible seed measures.
After being carefully cloned and hybridised, macadamia trees were planted in Hawaii in 1888, where they eventually became a significant commercial crop.
Macadamia nuts are currently grown in California, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and various regions of South and Central America.
The macadamia nut’s shell is so tough and tightly bound to the kernel that when it is shattered, the nut is crushed. This makes it incredibly challenging to crack. American researchers in Hawaii discovered how to separate the kernel from the shell by shrinking the two in drying bins. The first commercial cracker was later created by them. The macadamia nut was able to evolve to the commercial significance it has today because to these two innovations.
Additionally, this explains why macadamia nuts are only offered already shelled. Macadamia nuts are prized for their oil and nut butter as well.
They can be purchased salted and roasted. Make sure macadamia nuts are packaged in airtight or vacuum bags when purchasing them since once opened, they easily go rancid.
In addition to being used in confections and as snacks, macadamia nuts are becoming more and more popular in cooking since they give texture to salads and hot foods while still having a very mild and delicate flavour. Its oil is great for cold sauces and vinaigrettes.
SWIMMING CHESTNUTS
The name alludes to the tuber, which resembles a nut, of the aquatic plant Trapa. The plants are widespread around the world, but they are primarily used in Thailand, China, and Japan where they are also highly sought-after ingredients in their cuisines.
Similar to a water lily, the trapa plant spreads its leaves to the surface of ponds and lakes where it has roots. On the roots that are found below the water’s surface, the water chestnut grows. Water chestnuts have a 5–7 cm diameter and are flat and spherical in shape. They have white meat that resembles coconut flesh and a silky black skin. Their crisp texture and delicately sweet flavour make them a popular food. Once peeled, they can be consumed fresh or dry. Similar to cornstarch, water chestnuts are likewise boiled and turned into flour, which is then used to thicken sauces and other foods.
CHESTNUT
Despite the fact that they are also found in China, Japan, and North America, chestnuts are believed to have their origins in Southern Europe and Persia.
Chestnut tree nuts have a leathery shell and a brown, glossy appearance. Although they can be consumed raw, most people boil, bake, or roast them instead, or make a sweetened or unsweetened chestnut purée. They can also be found as marron glaces, served in syrup.
Because they contain more starch (30%) and less fat (3%), chestnuts are the only nut that is considered a vegetable.
Additionally, a flour rich in carbohydrates and fibre is produced from chestnuts.
HAZEL NUT
Portuguese explorers brought the nut, which has its origins in the West Indies and is indigenous to Brazil’s north, to India, Malaysia, and some regions of Africa.
The cashew apple’s interior contains the hard-shelled nut. When fully grown, the red or yellow apple’s end sprouts a cashew nut. Since the cashew tree belongs to the same family as poison ivy, farmers must exercise extreme caution when harvesting the nuts. Heat is applied to the nuts to extract the kernel since the oil in the hard shell hurts the skin. However, the resulting smoke and steam may still be damaging to skin and eyes. The cashew nuts can be harvested safely when heated.
NUT GINKGO
The ginkgo is an extinct species of maidenhair tree that only grows naturally in China.
The fruit has a nasty and bitter shell yet has the appearance of a little plum. Before cracking open the nuts to consume them, the Chinese wait for the pungent hull to completely fall off, paint the nuts, and use them as celebratory decorations. Ginkgo nuts are cooked in Japan and Korea after being skewered, which changes their colour from yellow to green. The ginkgo nut is a common addition to vegetarian cuisine in China. Both fresh and tinned nuts are available.
HAZELNUT/FILBERTS
The hazel nut, which is native to Europe and North America, was attributed with curing various human ailments, being excellent for boldness, and being used as a hair tonic in writings from as far back as 2838 B.C. Some claim that Saint Philibert, a French abbot whose feast day falls on August 22 and coincides with the first nuts to ripen in the Northern Hemisphere, is the source of the name filbert.
The hazelnut’s extremely tough shell needs to be broken with a nutcracker in order to reveal the kernel. Hazelnuts can be purchased in a variety of forms, including raw, blanched, roasted, ground, chopped, and liquor.
PEANUT
A genuine nut is not the peanut. It is a brittle, fragile, brownish-colored seed from a leguminous plant in the same botanical family as beans and peas. However, due to their physical attributes and nutritional worth, they are typically regarded alongside the nuts. The plant’s extensive underground roots are where the nuts develop. Since the first mention of it in 950 BC, the peanut has been a native of Brazil.
Today, peanuts are grown all over the tropics of the world (India, China, West Africa, Australia and the USA are the largest peanut growing countries). Excellent oil made from peanuts is used for cooking as well as cold meals and salads. Additionally, peanuts are used to make sardines in cans as well as peanut butter and margarine. You can get peanuts whole, deshelled, deskinned, raw, or roasted. Salads, entrées, side dishes, and desserts all contain peanuts in a variety of forms.
PINENUT
These are edible pine tree seeds that develop in cones. The Southern United States, Mexico, and the Mediterranean Sea region are home to pine trees. Establishing a pinenut industry is particularly challenging because the trees grow slowly and don’t produce many nuts until they are 75 years old.
The majority of pine nuts are bought uncooked and subsequently toasted, fried, or grilled. The cosmetics sector uses pine nut oil. Confectionery uses pine nut flour.
NUT PISTACHIO
The pistachio tree, which has its origins in Syria, Palestine, and Persia, produces the pistachio nut, a tiny green kernel.
The shell is naturally a greyish white tint, although occasionally the nuts are coloured red to hide part of the staining.
In the modern era, the pistachio nut is grown in India, Europe, North Africa, Mexico, the United States, and the Far East. Pistachios are typically either blanched and shelled or in their natural state.
The bluish-green seed is used as a flavour in ice cream, sweets, and cookery.
WALNUT
The walnut tree, which grows anywhere from North America to the Andes and from Europe to China, is related to the hickory and pecan trees. From a botanical standpoint, walnuts include English walnuts, butternuts, and hickory nuts. The English walnut, with its rough, rippling shell and yellow brown kernel, is the most well-known and is sometimes referred to as “The Walnut” despite the fact that all of those walnuts have various shells and kernels.
Walnuts can be purchased whole or shelled and are prized for their oil, which is used for salad dressing and cooking.
THE FOLLOWING NUTS ARE ALSO USUAL NUTS:
(Macadamia Nuts)
Australia (Bunya Bunya Pine Nuts
Red Bobble Nut)
Candle Nut) Malaysia
Palm Nut) Philippines,
Brazil
Indonesia and China both use the word “coconut.”
(Water Chestnut)
Brazil Nuts) South America
Beech Nuts ) USA
Nutritional Value and Information Regarding Pecan Nuts from North America
In addition to being high in fat (40–60%) and dietary fibre (5–15%), nuts also contain a modest amount of protein (2–25%) and starch (up to 10%). Chestnuts are an exception to this general norm, as was previously indicated.
Given that nuts are derived from plants, their fat content is largely mono- and polyunsaturated and free of cholesterol. Saturated fats are found only in coconut and palm nuts.
Nuts contain significant amounts of minerals like zinc, calcium, iron, phosphorus, and magnesium.
A few provitamins and vitamins, such as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamins E and C, are also present.
Because of their high potassium content and low natural sodium content, nuts are advised for the management of blood pressure.
Unfortunately, nuts are frequently sold salted as snacks, upsetting this natural balance, and people consume excessive amounts of salt and fat by eating salted nuts.
Additionally a wonderful source of energy, nuts are frequently included in the meals of athletes.
Nuts in their unsalted form are a nutritious food when used in moderation.
NUTS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL CHEF TO USE
Information about the use of nuts and nut-related products in contemporary hospitality is difficult to come by. In the kitchens, a chef is free to employ nuts or nut products in as many meals and compositions as they choose. Nuts are quite adaptable and do not have a strong flavour; they quickly blend in as a supplement to practically all supplied items, from appetisers to salads, soups, and desserts, with cheese, fish, pasta, meats, and vegetables.
Additionally, nut oils are frequently used for frying, seasoning, and dressing of both hot and cold dishes. In addition to pastry sauces and creams, savoury sauces can benefit from the addition of nut liqueurs. Marzipan and other nut pastes are frequently used to make chocolates and other confections. A cashew nut paste is frequently used in Indian cooking to thicken sauces and curries. Due to the wide distribution of different nuts throughout the world, nuts are used in almost all known cuisines, and their high nutritional value has made them a valuable addition to countless diets since ancient times. For more details, please visit dried pineapple
