The Nutcracker
(Nuts and
Seeds)
Nuts are dry fruits with an edible kernel enclosed in a hard woody shell. They are very rich in fats, have a low water content and are a good energy source. When roasted and salted, they are eaten as appetizers with apéritifs. They are also used in desserts and confectionery (almond paste, nougat, pralines, flavourings for cream desserts and ice creams, etc.), in charcuterie (pistachios), in forcemeats and in preparing other dishes (e.g. almonds with trout, walnuts or pine kernels in mixed salads and sauces).
Almond: The fruit of the almond
tree (in France the term is more loosely used for the seeds cantained
within the stones of such fruits as the apricot and peach). The outer
layer of the almond is oval, green and velvery to the touch; it encloses a
thick shelled nut containing one or two seeds. Originating in asia and
known by the Romans as "Greek nuts", almonds were widely used in the
Middle Ages to make soups, as well as sweet desserts. There are two
varieties of almond, both rich in sugar, albumen and oil; the edible sweet
almond and the bitter almond, which has a very strong taste and is
poisonous in large amounts, containing hydrocyanic acid.Brazil Nut: The Brazil nut tree
(Bertholettia excelsa) is a magnificent jungle tree of the steamy Amazon
Rain Forest Basin of Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia. It is often 150 feet or
more high, and with a trunk that would take four adults touching
outstretched arms to encircle. About 30 or so nuts are contained in a
baseball sized or larger, hard, fibrous shelled pod. This pod is so thick
that it doesn't even break when it falls from the tree. And what a fall!
The pod is heavy, up to 5 lbs and free falls 100 feet or more, usually
imbedding itself in the forest floor when it lands. The nuts are collected
mostly by Indians, who, in the ripening season, canoe up the rivers where
the trees grow. The collectors stay well clear of the trees when it is
windy, but every season someone is injured or killed by the falling pods.
The pods are broken open with an axe, and the nuts tipped into baskets and
canoed back down to collecting points.Candlenut: Candlenuts must be
cooked before eating, since they're highly toxic when raw. Used in
Southeast Asian cookery, the tropical candlenut is hard and high in fat.
The name comes from the fact that these nuts are also used in Indonesia
and Malaysia to make candles. Whole or chopped roasted candlenuts are
available in Indian and Asian markets.Cashew Nut: The fruit of the
cashew tree, originally from South America but widely cultivated in India
and other tropical countries since the 16th century. The nut contains a
smooth creamy white kidney shaped kernel with a very high calorific
content when roasted; it is also rich in fat and phosphorus. In Europe it
is usually eaten dried, roasted and salted as an appetizer and in salads.
In Indian cooking it is used in a veriety of dishes, with prawns,
vegetable dishes, stuffings for chicken and cakes and biscuits
(cookies).Chestnut: The fruit of the
sweet chestnut tree, which is edible when cooked. The spiky husk generally
contains three separate chestnuts, but improved cultivated varieties
(called marrons in France) contain a single large nut. Chestnuts
are energy rich and highly nutritious. The contain a high proportion of
starch, together with potassium and vitamins B and C. Fresh chestnuts,
available in the winter months, should be heavy, hard and shiny brown.
Whole chestnuts can be roasted in their shell, then peeled and eaten as
they are.Coconut: The coconut palm is
common in tropical regions all over the world. The nut is covered in a
fibrous outer coating on the tree and all parts of the tree are useful,
the trunks for timber, the leaves for thatch, the fibrous husk produces
coir the starting material for ropes and coconut matting and the nuts are
used for food. Unripe nuts contain coconut milk. The nutmeat can be eaten
fresh or dried (desiccated or flaked coconut) and is also available in
blocks of creamed coconut. A valuable oil is also extracted from the nut
meat and used for cooking (although it is very high in saturated fat),
margarines, soaps and detergents.Filbert: The nut is best kept
by shelling and then freezing. Filberts are high in vitamin E and fat,
mostly monounsaturated. Filberts sucker eagerly and grow as shrubs if
unpruned. Pruned they become small rounded trees. The leaves are dark
green, wooly, and wrinkly; nuts have frilly coverings. The yellow catkins
bloom in December. In history the filbert is commonly known as the
"hazel," and has all sorts of superstitious and romantic connotations. If
you woo your chosen one beneath a hazel tree, you are assured of success
(can't wait to try this); forked hazel rods are (were) used by witches in
various mystical (nefarious) ways (Friedlander: 160). The name "filbert"
derives from the time of the nut's ripening: around Aug. 22, which is St.
Philibert's Day in England and France (another etymology has it that
"filbert" means "full beard, in reference to the nuts husk).Galingale: A perennial
Mediterranean plant producing scaly brown tubers the size of hazelnuts,
the sweet white farinaceous pulp of which earned them the French name
amandes de terre (earth almonds). They may be eaten dry, raw , or
roasted like chestnuts. In North Africa, the tubers are generally ground
and used in forcemeats for poultry, meatballs and spice mixtures. In
Spain, the galingale is called chufa; grown in the Valencia region,
it is used for making a popular drink, horchata, which is similar
to orgeat. It also yields an oil, which has a lower freezing point than
water and does not turn rancid and a flour used in confectionary.Ginkgo Nut: The oval pale green
fruit of the Asian ginkgo tree. The olive sized kernel is much used in
Japanese cooking, either roasted or grilled (broiled), as a garnish for
fish or poultry, or, in the autumn, simply as a desset nut. A typical dish
comprises large prawns mixed with ginkgo nuts, pieces of chicken and
mushrooms cooked on hot cooking salt in a earthenware casserole.Hazelnut: A hard shelled nut
with an oval or round kernel that is produced by one of several species of
hazel tree. Harvested in August and September, the nuts can be eaten fresh
but are usually dried. hazelnuts have a high calorific content and
comprise about 60% fat. They also contain sulphur, phosphorus, calcium,
potassium and nicotinic acid. An oil is extracted in small quantities for
use as flavouring; it should never be heated.Hickory Nuts: There are 17
varieties of hickory trees, 13 of which are native to the United States,
including the pecan nut. The common hickory nut has an extremely hard
shell. Hickory nuts have an excellent rich flavour with a buttery quality
due to their high fat content. They are a usually sold unshelled. Hickory
nuts can be used in a variety of baked goods and in almost any recipe as a
substitute for pecans.Kola Nut: Are a seed of several
trees (genus Cola), native to Africa and cultivated elsewhere in tropics.
The trees grows about 40 feet high, have yellow flowers, spotted with
purple; leaves 6 to 8 inches long, pointed at both ends. The seeds are
extensively used as a condiment by the natives of Western and Central
tropical Africa, also by the negroes of the West Indies and Brazil, who
introduced the trees to these countries. In Western Africa these trees are
usually found growing near the sea-coast, and a big trade is carried on
with the nuts by the natives of the interior Cola being eaten by them as
far as Fezzan and Tripoli. A small piece is chewed before each meal to
promote digestion; it is also thought to improve the flavour of anything
eaten after it and even to render putrid water palatable; the powder is
applied to cuts.Macadamia Nut: The fruit of an
Australian free. Also known as Queensland nut, it has a thin green fleshy
husk; a very hard light brown shell encloses the edible white kernel,
which has a flavour reminiscent of coconut. In Asia the nut is used in
curries and stews; in North America it is a flavouring for ices and cakes
and is also eaten as a sweetmeat, after it is dipped in honey or
chocolate.Mustard Seed: White (or
yellow) and brown (or Asian). A third species, the black
mustard seed, has been replaced for most purposes by the brown species
because the latter can be grown and harvested more economically. White
mustard seeds are much larger than the brown variety but a lot less
pungent. They are the main ingredient in American style mustards. White
and brown seeds are blended to make English mustard. Brown mustard seeds
are used in pickling and as a seasoning and are the main ingredient in
European and Chinese mustards. Mustard seeds are sold whole, ground into
powder or processed further into prepared mustard.Peanut: The edible seed of a
widely cultivated tropical plant. Originating in South America, the plant
was introduced into Africa by the Portuguese slave traders and widely
grown from the colonial era onwards. It is also grown in India and North
America. Each pod matures underground and contains from two to four seeds,
also called groundnuts or sometimes ground pistachios. Grilled or salted
peanuts are served as cocktail snacks, or they can be used in various
recipes. It can be made into peanut butter, which is very nutritious and
is eaten in sandwiches, on canapés, etc.Pecan Nut: The fruit of a tall
tree found in North america. It has a smooth fragile shell enclosing a
bilobed brown kernel looking and tasting something like a walnut. Pecan
pie is about one of the most popular recipe made from pecans.Pine Kernel or Nut: The small
oblong edible seed of the stone pine, which grows in the Mediterranean
region. Surrounded by a hard husk, pine kernels (or pignoles as
they are known in the south of France) are extracted from between the
scales of the pine cone. Pine kernels are very oily, hence their tendency
to go rancid. They taste a little like almonds, but are sometimes more
resinous and spicy. Although pine kernels are eaten raw, with other nuts,
they are usually browned in a skillet and used in pâtisserie and in
other recipes. They are often used to garnish rice in India and in Turkey,
where they are also used in stuffed mussels, poultry forcemeats and mutton
balls. In Italy, pine kernels are used in sauces, pasta, fish forcemeats,
fillings for omelettes and to flavour sautéed chicken.Pistachio: The seed of the
pistachio tree, native to the Near East. The tree is now cultivated widely
in Mediterranean countries and the southern United States. The pistachio
nut is about the size of an olive and the pale green kernel is surrounded
by a reddish skin. It is enclosed in a smooth pale reddish brown shell,
which is easy to break and is covered by a brownish husk. Sweet and
delicately flavoured, the kernel is used chiefly for decorating pastries,
cakes and confectionery. It is also used to flavour charcuterie and is
eaten roasted and salted in cocktail snacks.Poppy Seed: Poppy seeds, which
have a rather nutty taste, are used mainly in pâtisserie in Turkey,
Egypy and central Europe, where they are used to flavour a cream filling
for certain gâteaux or are spinkled over bread rolls (also very
popular in Britian). They are also used as a condiment for cream and curd
cheeses, to flavour chinese rice flour noodles and as a ingredient in
India curries.Pumpkin Seed: Also known as
pepitas, these edible pumkin seeds are a popular ingredient in
Mexican cooking. With their white hull removed, they are a medium dark
green and have a deliciously delicate flavour, which is even better when
the seeds are roasted and salted. Pupmkin seeds are sold slated, roasted
and raw and with or without hulls. they are available in health food
stores, Mexican markets and many supermarkets. (See Recipe)Seasame Seed: History tells us
that sesame seed is the first recorded seasoning, dating back to 3000 B.C.
Assyria. It grows widely in India and throughout the Orient. the seeds
were brought to America by african slaves, who called them
benné (pronounced behnnee) seed and it subsequently
became very popular in Southern cooking. These tiny, flat seeds come in
shades of brown, red and black, but the most commonly found are a pale
greyish ivory. Sesame seed has a nutty, slightly sweet flavour that makes
it versatile enough for use in baked goods such as breads, pastries, cakes
and cookies, in confections like the Middle Eastern halvah and in salads
and other savoury dishes. The seed is available packaged in supermarkets
and can be found in bulk in Middle Eastern markets and in health food
stores. Because of a high oil content, sesame seed turn rancid quickly. It
can be stored airtight in a cool, dark place for up to 3 months,
refrigerated up to 6 months and frozen up to a year.Sunflower Seed: An annual
plant, originally from Mexico and Peru, also know as helianthus. Nowadays
it is widely cultivated both for ornament and for its seeds, from which an
oil is extracted. Sunflower seed oil contains a high proportion of
essential fatty acids and is recomended by dietitians as a cooking oil.
Its good emulsifying quality makes it very suitable for mayonnaise. It is
also useful for dressings, sautéing and roasting, but does not
withstand heating beyond 340°F. As it is sensitive to light , it
should be kept in an opaque container. Sunflower seed oil from the first
cold press, which is fruity, light and digestable, is the best. In Russia
and Poland, sunflower seeds are nibbled, like almonds, as a snack: they
are an excellent source of energy.Walnut: The fruit of the walnut
tree, consisting of a hard shelled nut surrounded by an outer green flesy
husk, called a shuck. The delicious kernel is shaped like the two halves
of a brain (the reason why the ancient Greeks an Romans believed that
walnuts cured headaches). The kernel comprises 35 to 50% of the totla
weight, depending on the quality of the nut. It is covered with a fine
skin, light to dark yellow in colour and the kernel is white, turning
greyish with age.