In botany terms, nuts are strictly a particular kind of dry fruit that has a single seed, a hard shell, and a protective husk. Chestnuts, hazelnuts, pecans and walnuts fit the true definition of a nut. Peanuts and almonds do not meet the botanical definition of a true nut. Peanuts are actually legumes and a fleshy coat like a plum surrounds almonds. Whether they are true “nuts” or not, people throughout the world enjoy these fruits.
Acorns are the fruits produced by oak trees (Quercus spp.). These edible nuts were a food source for indigenous peoples of North America. Acorns played an especially important role in California where several species of oaks overlap. These hard-shelled fruits were an important food source because if properly treated in the sun, they could be stored for several years and used when needed. Acorns were stored in caches or on tall poles to protect them from being eaten by squirrels. When prepared for use in foods the ground acorn flower was rinsed in a stream to remove bitter tasting tannins.
Black Walnuts (Juglans nigra) are native to North America. The
nuts are primarily used in ice cream and candy. Walnut trees are notorious for inhibiting growth of other plants around them. They produce chemicals in their leaves that are leached out by rain and soak into ground around the trunk. Farmers planted these trees around farm animals to keep the flies away because they erroneously believed that the trees contained insecticides.
Pecans (Carya illinoinensis) are a commercially important species of nut native to the American Southeast. Pecans are now grown extensively in the southeastern United States and are a prominent part of the regional cuisine. Historically native peoples and early American settlers used pecans because they were easily accessed along major waterways and were far easier to shell than other North American nut species.
Pine nuts (Pinus spp.) are not considered true nuts in the botanical sense but are in fact the edible seeds produced by pine trees. Seeds of the piñon pines were highly prized by Native Americans living in the desert southwest, and were especially important in the diet because they provided an important plant staple that was high in both fats and carbohydrates—a characteristic rare for most other edible seeds, roots, berries, and fruits. Piñon, or pine, nuts are also one of the easiest plant foods to harvest and store, and they were often abundant. Pine “nuts” can also be pressed into oil, which is reported to aid in appetite suppression.
OZSTAR (www.ozstarmakina.com)has the best roasters of various capacities to give you perfectly roasted peanuts! We also provide additional equipment for flavoring and seasoning the nuts. OZSTAR (www.ozstarmakina.com) also provides additional flavoring and seasoning equipment for nuts.