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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



were two men aged 23 and 34 years, re- 

 spectively. A mixed diet was used. Each 

 subject consumed daily 300 grams of the 

 cooked chestnut flour, whicli furnished 

 about 20 per cent of the proteids, 50 per 

 cent of the fat, nearly 50 per cent of the 

 carbohydrates, and not far from 40 per 

 cent of the total fuel value of the food. 

 The average digestion coefficients obtained 

 for chestnuts with the two subjects were 

 protein, 56 per cent; fat, 63 per cent, and 

 total carbohydrates 98 per cent, while 89 

 per cent of the energy was available. 

 Memmo also studied a kind of acorn 

 bread eaten in Italy, and found it was 

 fairly well assimilated, though not very 

 palatable. In experiments made by Saikit- 

 at Yale University, chestnuts were added 

 to the diet to obtain data regarding the 

 raw chestnut starch, and it was found 

 that it was comparatively indigestible. 

 This would suggest that it is desirable 

 to cook chestnuts rather than to use them 

 raw. 



From the foregoing it would appear 

 that, while it is not possible to determine 

 the exact digestion coefficients for all 

 nuts, enough has been done to indicate 

 their high nutritive value and to show 

 that the human system can assimilate a 

 very large proportion of the nutriment 

 contained in nuts when thoy are ration- 

 ally eaten. 



Place of Ktits in the Diet 



It has been shown by numerous in- 

 vestigations that nuts are rich in protein 

 and fat and that these nutrients can be 

 fairly well assimilated. Nuts being such 

 a concentrated food, their proper place in 

 the diet is a matter for more careful con- 

 sideration than is the case with many of 

 the ordinary food materials. It must not 

 be forgotten that a certain bulkiness of 

 the diet is conducive to its normal assimi- 

 lation, and that too concentrated nutri- 

 ment is often the cause of digestive dis- 

 turbances. It might be expected, then, 

 that nuts could be most advantageously 

 used in connection with more bulky foods, 

 such as fruits, vegetables, breads, crack- 

 ers, etc Most rationally used, they 

 should constitute an integral part of the 



$Jour. Biol. Chem, 2 (1906). p. 251. 



menu rather than supplement an already 

 abundant meal. Since nuts are so con- 

 centrated, eating a considerable quantity 

 out of hand at odd times will mean an 

 oversupply of food if a corresponding re- 

 duction is not made in the quantity of 

 other foods eaten during the day. The dis- 

 tress sometimes experienced when nuts 

 are eaten is undoubtedly often due to im- 

 proper mastication or to overindulgence, 

 since investigations made at the Cali- 

 toi-nia station indicate clearly that con- 

 siderable quantities of nuts properly eat- 

 en do not cause distress. There is a popu- 

 lar belief that a little salt with nuts pre- 

 vents the digestive disturbance resulting 

 from eating them. To most persons salt 

 undoubtedly adds to the palatability of 

 the nuts, but no investigations have been 

 found on record which demonstrate any 

 actual improvement in the digestibility of 

 nuts due to salt. 



Considering all kinds, nuts are perhaps 

 more often eaten raw than cooked, though 

 some sorts like the peanut, which is not 

 generally considered palatable raw, and 

 the cashew nut, which is poisonous until 

 roasted, are quite generally cooked. 



In this country the native chestnut is 

 very commonly eaten raw, and the small 

 native nuts have a distinct and character- 

 istic flavor. The European chestnut, 

 when raw, is lacking in flavor and so is 

 almost universally cooked. The Japanese 

 chestnut is much like the European in its 

 characteristics. 



The cocoanut and the almond are impor- 

 tant ingredients of many sorts of cakes 

 and confectionery, and often nuts are used 

 in cooking in many ways. 



Nuts may be readily used as staple ar- 

 ticles of diet, as an ingredient in salads 

 and in soups, as a stuffing for poultry, in 

 the making of desserts and in many other 

 ways. Wild turkey stuffed with pecan 

 nuts is a dish popular with old Virginia 

 cooks, just as goose stuffed with chest- 

 nuts is prized in Germany. Salted nuts 

 and nuts crystallized in sugar are very 

 common accompaniments of other foods. 

 In general, the nuts rich in protein and 

 fat should be used in combination with 

 carbohydrate foods, as bread, fruit, green 



