Nuts and Their Uses As Food 



The pecan crop of last year was greater than the total quan- 

 tity of all nuts used in 1900. This is a convincing argument 

 that nuts are being used in this country as an article of food. 

 They are no longer considered merely as -a tid-bit, something 

 to be munched between meals, or to be used as a dainty at the 

 end of a meal. A knowledge of their food value gives them a 

 definite place in the diet and increases their productive im- 

 portance. 



The term "nut" is not a definite one, technically speaking, 

 and is applied indiscriminately to many fruits or parts of fruits 

 which have a more or less hard, woody covering surrounding 

 a meat or kernel. The most diverse plant groups are cultivated 

 for our nut supply. Some are obtained from the deciduous 

 trees, others from the tropical palms or evergreens, others from 

 shrubs and bushes, and the Agricultural Department at Wash- 

 ington ranks the leguminous vine bearing the peanut among 

 our nut producers. It is a legume, however, not a true nut. 



Nuts in general are rich in fat, contain large amounts of 

 protein material, varying amounts of carbohydrates, and valu- 

 able mineral salts. The pecan contains the largest amount of 

 fat of any of the food nuts (70 per cent). The pine nut, or 

 Pignolia, has the largest amount of protein of the nuts (3 

 per cent), and also a large amount of fat and mineral salts. 

 The peanut is second in rank for its amount of protein. The 

 almond, beechnut, chesnut, and Pistachio nut all contain more 

 than 20 per cent of protein. This places them among the high 

 protein content foods. The chestnut and also the peanut con- 

 tain large amounts of starch and sugar. The chestnut shows 

 as much as 41 per cent of carbohydrates. 



