Nuts - and non-nuts

walnut Nuts have been described as 'a fruit built like an oyster'. They were originally served by the Romans along with alcohol to prevent drunkenness. The custom, but not the belief, still persists with beer nuts.

Nuts contain tryptophan, an amino acid that is calming. So calming, in fact, that Buddha prescribed a diet solely of nuts, figs and dates.

To be exact, a nut is a hard-shelled fruit with a single seed. So walnuts (once thought to be 'brain food' because of their distinctive shape) cashews and peanuts are not, technically, nuts.

Brazil nuts grow inside a large round fruit and are packed in much like the segments of an orange. The whole fruit is very heavy and when it is ripe it falls and can imbed itself in the ground or injure anyone unlucky enough to be underneath at the time.

Cashews, related to the sumac tree, are a native of Brazil, so perhaps they should have - they grow inside a large apple-like fruit which contains a poisonous oil and the 'nuts' have to be carefully extracted and roasted to rid them of any residual nasties.

macadamianuts

Macadamia nuts, named after Dr John Macadam, are the only Australian food to be commercially cultivated in this country. Hawaii also produces them but there they are called Hawaiian nut. They are low in saturated fats. Walnuts (the name translates 'foreign nut') are the fruit of a tree which is a member of the same family as the peach and olive. They were once believed to be 'brain food' because of the shape of the kernel.

Peanuts are not nuts but are legumes, like peas and beans. George Washington Carver developed over 300 uses for them and there is even a peanut museum at Tuskagee University, Alabama, where he taught and researched. In southern USA they are often called 'goober peas' or groundnuts. Although peanuts are native to Brazil, they have been discovered in Peruvian tombs dating back to 950BC. Peanuts reached the US on ships carrying slaves from Africa. Brought for use as food while en route, the surplus was dumped in America and planted.

Pistachios, the world's only green nuts, were imported to Rome from Syria by Lucius Vitellius, a Roman epicurean. In the Bible, Aaron's rod was made to blossom and bear almonds. Although the blossom is delicate pink, the nuts are white inside the brown skin. The Egyptians used almond oil to prevent wrinkles and today it is still a useful ingredient in many cosmetics.

All nuts contain fat - up to 60 percent - but it is either monosaturated or polyunsaturated and recent research suggests that this is balanced by other enzymes and nutrients they contain such as B vitamins, vitamin E and minerals such as calcium phosphorus, iron, zinc and magnesium.

Nuts are a good source of fibre and protein and are useful in vegetarian diets. Because of the fat content, nuts can turn rancid when affected by heat. Keep them in a cool place, even refrigerated or frozen for longest storage.

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