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For other uses, see Nut (disambiguation).
Hazelnuts from the Common Hazel
Hazelnuts from the Common Hazel
Chestnuts
Chestnuts
A walnut and a walnut core
A walnut and a walnut core

Nut is a general term for the dry seed or fruit of some plants. The Common Hazel ( Corylus avellana) is a species of Hazel native to Europe and western Asia, from the British Isles The Common Hazel ( Corylus avellana) is a species of Hazel native to Europe and western Asia, from the British Isles Chestnut ( Castanea) (including some chinkapin or Chinquapin) is a Genus of eight or nine Species of Deciduous Walnuts (genus Juglans) are Plants in the family Juglandaceae. A seed (in some plants referred to as a kernel) is a small embryonic Plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat usually with some stored The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. 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.

All nuts are seeds, but not all seeds are nuts. Nuts are both the seed and the fruit, and can't be separated. Seeds come from fruit, and can be removed from the fruit, like almonds, cashews and pistachios, which were once inside fruit.

Contents

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. Botany, plant science(s, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of Biology and is the scientific study of plant Life The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. A seed (in some plants referred to as a kernel) is a small embryonic Plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat usually with some stored In the Flowering plants an ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower or Gynoecium. Most nuts come from the pistils with inferior ovaries (see flower) and all are indehiscent (not opening at maturity). A gynoecium (from Ancient Greek gyne, "woman" is the Female reproductive part of a Flower. A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also True nuts are produced, for example, by some plant families of the order Fagales. This article is about the taxonomic rank for the sequence of species in a taxonomic list see Taxonomic order In scientific classification used The Fagales are an order of Flowering plants including some of the best known Trees The order name is derived from Genus Fagus

Order Fagales

Culinary definition and uses

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

A nut in cuisine is a much less restrictive (but vital) category than a nut in botany, as the term is applied (from the viewpoint of the cook, not of a botanist) to many seeds that are not botanically true nuts. Juglans regia (the Common walnut, Persian walnut, or English walnut) is the original Walnut tree of the Old World Juglans cinerea, commonly known as Butternut or White Walnut, is a species of Walnut native to the eastern United States and Trees in the genus Carya (from Ancient Greek κάρυον " Nut " are commonly known as Hickory. The Pecan ( Carya illinoinensis, commonly misspelled illinoensis) is a species of Hickory, native to south-central North America The wingnuts are Plants in the genus Pterocarya (from Ancient Greek pteron, "wing" + karyon, " Nut " The family Fagaceae, or beech family, comprises about 900 species of both Evergreen and Deciduous trees and shrubs which are characterized by alternate Chestnut ( Castanea) (including some chinkapin or Chinquapin) is a Genus of eight or nine Species of Deciduous For the babyfood see Beech-Nut. Beech ( Fagus) is a genus of ten Species of Deciduous Trees in the The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of Trees and Shrubs in the Genus Quercus (from Latin Lithocarpus is a genus in the Beech family Fagaceae, differing from Quercus in the erect male spikes Lithocarpus densiflorus, commonly known as the Tanoak or Tanbark-oak, is an Evergreen Tree in the beech family Fagaceae Betulaceae, or the Birch Family, includes six genera of Deciduous nut -bearing Trees and Shrubs including the Birches Alder is the common name of a Genus of Flowering plants ( Alnus) belonging to the Birch family (Family Betulaceae) Birch is the name of any Tree of the genus Betula ( Bé-tu-la) in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the The hazels ( Corylus) are a genus of Deciduous Trees and large Shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere The Filbert ( Corylus maxima) is a species of Hazel native to southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, from the Balkans Plants in the genus Carpinus ( Cár-pi-nus) are commonly called Hornbeams. The tree species Pinus koraiensis is Korean Pine It is native to eastern Asia, Manchuria, far eastern Russia, Korea and central Cuisine (from French cuisine, "cooking culinary art kitchen" ultimately from Latin coquere, "to cook" is a specific set A seed (in some plants referred to as a kernel) is a small embryonic Plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat usually with some stored Any large, oily kernel found within a shell and used in food may be regarded as a nut. A seed (in some plants referred to as a kernel) is a small embryonic Plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat usually with some stored 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. A snack food (commonly called a snack) is seen in Western culture as a type of food not meant to be eaten as a main Meal of the day – Breakfast Cooking is the process of preparing Food by applying Heat, selecting measuring and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure for producing safe and edible 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. The jays are several Species of medium-sized usually colorful and noisy Passerine Birds in the Crow family Corvidae A squirrel is one of the many small or medium-sized Rodents in the family Sciuridae. The acorn is the nut of the Oak tree (genera Quercus, Lithocarpus and Cyclobalanopsis, in the

Nuts, including both tree nuts and peanuts, are among the most common food allergens. The peanut, or Groundnut ( Arachis hypogaea) is a species in the Legume family Fabaceae native to South America, Mexico A food allergy is an adverse immune response to a food protein [1]

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

See also: List of edible seeds

Nutritional benefits

A graph detailing the nutritional properties of nuts and oily seeds.
A graph detailing the nutritional properties of nuts and oily seeds. A list of edible seeds here includes seeds that are directly foodstuffs rather than yielding derived products

Several epidemiological studies have revealed that people who consume nuts regularly are less likely to suffer from coronary heart disease. Epidemiology is the study of factors affecting the Health and Illness of populations and serves as the foundation and Logic of interventions made in the Coronary disease (or coronary heart disease) refers to the failure of Coronary circulation to supply adequate circulation to Cardiac muscle and surrounding Recent clinical trials have found that consumption of various nuts such as almonds and walnuts can lower serum LDL cholesterol concentrations. In health care clinical trials are conducted to allow safety and Efficacy data to be collected for new drugs or devices The Almond ( Prunus dulcis, syn Prunus amygdalus Batsch Amygdalus communis L Walnuts (genus Juglans) are Plants in the family Juglandaceae. Low-density lipoprotein ( LDL) is a type of Lipoprotein that transports Cholesterol and Triglycerides from the Liver to peripheral Although nuts contain various substances thought to possess cardioprotective effects, scientists believe that their fatty acid profile is at least in part responsible for the hypolipidemic response observed in clinical trials. In Chemistry, especially Biochemistry, a fatty acid is a Carboxylic acid often with a long unbranched Aliphatic tail ( chain) which Hypolipidemic agents, or antihyperlipidemic agents, are a diverse group of pharmaceuticals that are used in the treatment of Hyperlipidemias They are called

In addition to possessing cardioprotective effects, nuts generally have a very low glycemic index (GI). The Glycemic index (also glycaemic index) or GI is a measure of the effects of Carbohydrates on Blood glucose levels [2] Consequently, dietitians frequently recommend nuts be included in diets prescribed for patients with insulin resistance problems such as diabetes mellitus type 2. Insulin resistance is the condition in which normal amounts of Insulin are inadequate to produce a normal Insulin response from Fat, Muscle Diabetes mellitus type 2 or Type 2 Diabetes (formerly called non - Insulin -dependent Diabetes mellitus (NIDDM or adult-onset diabetes is a metabolic

One study found that people who eat nuts live two to three years longer than those who do not. However, this may be because people who eat nuts tend to eat less junk food. Junk food is a broad term that is used to describe a variety of Food products from Sweets that contain little to no Nutritional value to products used in [3]

Other uses

The "nut" of the horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), is also known as a conker. For the South African Thoroughbred racehorse see Horse Chestnut (horse. 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 glucoside is a Glycoside that is derived from Glucose. Glucosides are common in plants but rare in animals Aesculin is a Glucoside that naturally occurs in the horse chestnut ( Aesculus hippocastanum) and in Daphnin (the dark green resin A related species, Aesculus californica, was formerly eaten by the Native Americans of California in times of famine. Aesculus californica ( California Buckeye or California Horse-chestnut) is a species of buckeye endemic to California Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It must be leached to remove the toxic constituents before eating.

References

  1. ^ Common Food Allergens. The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. Retrieved on 2007-06-24. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 972 - Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces takes place
  2. ^ David Mendosa (2002). Revised International Table of Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL) Values. Retrieved on 2007-11-23. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 800 - Charlemagne arrives at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of
  3. ^ "ABC News: The Places Where People Live Longest". URL accessed January 18, 2007. Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

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

External links

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