About Nuts
There are many types of nuts available. The most popular with the Great British public are Peanuts and Cashew nuts. Here is some brief information and nuts.
Peanuts / Raw Peanuts
Peanuts (groundnuts) are pulses, the seeds of leguminous (pod bearing) plants and belong to the same family as beans, peas and lentils.
The Peanut is unusual because it flowers above the ground but fruits below the ground. From planting to harvesting, the growing cycle takes about four to five months depending on the type or variety.
They are grown in the warm climates of Asia, Africa, Australia and North & South America. They are processed and sold in many ways including roasted or raw in the shell, roasted & salted out of the shell or raw out of the shell with skins / without skins (blanched). They are also used in fruit and nut mixes, peanut butter, confectionery and cooking oil.
Cashews
The Cashew tree belongs to the botanical family Linn. The Cashew fruit has two distinct parts.
One is the Cashew apple – a fleshy, pear-shaped fruit yellow, red or scarlet in colour.
The other part is the kidney-shaped nut, attached to the lower part of the apple and containing the edible kernel – the Cashewnut.
Pistachios
When Pistachios are ripe, they are covered with a rose-coloured hull. This hull encases the ivory-shelled nut. The shell of the Pistachio splits naturally when it is ready to be harvested.
While Pistachios are still on the tree, the hull protects the nutmeat and the shell.
Macadamias
There are ten species of Macadamia trees, but only two produce edible nuts. The nut is a follicle and has a hard green outer husk, which varies in size from 25mm to 40mm.
Inside the husk is a hard brown shell approximately 3mm thick containing the Macadamia kernel.
The kernel, about 12mm – 20mm in diameter, is creamy white and nearly spherical.
Hazelnuts
Unlike other fruiting trees, the Hazelnut tree blooms and pollinates in the middle of winter.
The nuts usually grow in clusters of two or three.
Each nut is covered with an open-ended husk, which extends beyond the nut itself.
During the summer months the maturing nut and the husk are green, turning to shades of brown (hazel) as autumn approaches.
They are normally harvested in October.
Brazils
Despite their name, Brazil nuts do not just come from Brazil. They are from the Amazon Basin, covering Bolivia, Brazil and Peru. The trees can grow to a height of 50 metres and produce fruit after 40 years or so. Each tree produces 150 – 300 pods (or cocos). These range from the size of a tennis ball to that of a man’s head, and contain roughly 12 – 20 nuts arranged rather like orange segments.
Find out more about nuts by visiting http://www.aboutnuts.com
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