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Nut (fruit)

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Revision as of 23:27, 18 March 2008 by 24.56.243.122 (talk) (→Nutritional benefits)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) For other uses, see Nut (disambiguation).
a walnut and a walnut core
Hazelnuts from the Common Hazel
Chestnut

Nut is a general term for the dry seed or fruit of some plants. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts. Nuts are an important source of nutrition for both humans and wildlife.

Botanical Definition

A nut in botany is a simple dry fruit with one seed (rarely two) in which the ovary wall becomes very hard (stony or woody) at maturity, and where the seed remains unattached or unfused with the ovary wall. Most nuts come from pistils with inferior ovaries (see flower) and all are indehiscent (not opening at maturity). True nuts are produced, for example, by some plants — families of the order Fagales.

Order Fagales

Culinary definition and uses

Korean Pine nuts — unshelled, and shell, above; shelled, below

A nut in cuisine jake is gay 

(but vital) category than a nut in botany, as the term is applied (or misapplied, depending upon the viewpoint) to many seeds that are not true nuts.  Any large, oily kernel found within a shell and used in food may be regarded as a nut.  Because nuts generally have a high oil content, they are a highly prized food and energy source.  A large number of seeds are edible by humans and used in cooking, eaten raw, sprouted, or roasted as a snack food, or pressed for oil that is used in cookery and cosmetics.  Nuts (or seeds generally) are also a significant source of nutrition for wildlife. This is particularly true in temperate climates where animals such as jays and squirrels store acorns and other nuts during the autumn to keep them from starving during the late autumn, all of winter, and early spring.

Nuts, including both tree nuts and peanuts, are among the most common food allergens.

Some fruits and seeds that are nuts in the culinary sense but not in the botanical sense:

See also: List of edible seeds

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Other uses

The "nut" of the horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), is also known as a conker. Conkers are inedible, due to the presence of the toxic glucoside aesculin, but are collected and used in an old children's game, also known as conkers, in which a nut is threaded onto a strong cord and then each child attempts to break their opponent's conker by hitting it with their own. A related species, Aesculus californica, was formerly eaten by the Native Americans of California in times of famine. It must be leached to remove the toxic constituents before eating.

References

  1. "Common Food Allergens". The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. Retrieved 2007-06-24.

Kellogg, John H. "Nuts May Save the Race." The Itinerary of Breakfast. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1920. 165–203.

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