Nuts About Christmas

Spending more time indoors during recent cold and snowy weather, I’ve had a chance to do some Christmas baking. Sorting through my collection of nuts and spices, I started thinking about how all of these things have their origin in nature. We tend to take it for granted, but really, it is amazing how these exotic foods have made their way into our kitchen cupboards.

Nuts are especially important at Christmas. Check out any Christmas cookbook and you will find recipes loaded with walnuts, almonds and pecans. Not to mention the bowl of shelled nuts in the living room, ready for guests to crack open.

Let’s start with walnuts. The walnuts we eat come from the common walnut tree (Juglans regia). This tree originates in the old world, from SE Europe, south and central Asia and China. Walnuts were introduced to England around the 15th century. The name “walnut” comes from the old English word “wealhhnutu” meaning “foreign nut.” Walnut trees grow to 40 metres high and have grey bark that fissures with age. Leaves are pinnate, which means that several leaflets are paired along a narrow stalk.

Fruits on the tree look like green golf balls. At maturity, the fleshy green outer layer splits open to reveal the shelled walnut. The wrinkly shell splits in half, and houses the nutmeat. An unshelled walnut resembles the two hemispheres of the brain. The Doctrine of Signatures, popular in the 15th century, maintained that since the walnut looked like a brain it was therefore a remedy for brain ailments.
Several trees related to commercial walnuts, including black walnut (Juglans nigra) are native to eastern North America. Though the nuts are edible, they are quite small and have a very tough, thick shell. Black walnuts are seldom grown commercially, but the wood is very valuable. Common walnuts are successfully cultivated in the US, and California provides about two-thirds of the world market.

The almond tree (Prunus dulcis) is in the rose family and is native to the Middle East. It is a small tree, growing about 10 metres high and has leaves with toothed edges. Almonds have pretty white or pink flowers, and require insect pollination to produce fruit. Prior to domestication almonds contained toxic compounds, and had to be leached or roasted to remove these toxins. Today, two varieties of the tree are grown, the sweet almond, which often has white flowers, and the bitter almond, which often has pink flowers. Sweet almonds are grown for edible nuts, and bitter almonds for other purposes, such as almond oil.

The almond fruit is green and leathery when ripe and splits to reveal the stone, which has a pattern of little holes rather like the outside of a peach pit. Within the stone, there are one, or sometimes two almonds.

Almonds have been grown successfully in Europe, North America and other parts of the globe. Almonds take up a larger share of the world trade than any other nut.

The pecan tree (Carya illinoinensis) is native to south-central North America. It is in the family Juglandaceae, which is the same family as the walnut and hickory tree. Like the walnut, the pecan is a large tree, with pinnate leaves, and long catkin-like flowers that are wind pollinated. The fruit of the pecan is brown with a rough husk that at maturity splits into four sections, releasing the thin-shelled oval nut.

In the 16th century, Spaniards brought the pecan to Europe, Asia and Africa. Pecans are, like many prized nuts, grown in many parts of the world. Unlike other nut trees, the pecan has been recently domesticated, beginning in the US in the1880’s. The US is the major producer of pecans, providing 80-95% of the world’s supply. The pecan is so important in Texas, that it was declared the state tree in 1919. Southerners pronounce pecans as “peh-kahns”, while we northerners tend to call them “pee-cans”. Proper pronunciation is open to debate.

Nuts have been an important part of the human diet since ancient times. Humans are simply nuts about nuts, and have gone to great lengths to cultivate these trees in as many countries as possible. Nuts not only taste good, but also offer multiple health benefits. Nuts are rich in vitamin E and are a good source of protein. They are effective in lowering cholesterol, and have cancer-preventing properties.

Eating a handful of nuts every day is a healthy habit to get into. Just make sure the nuts are unsalted, and stored in the fridge, where they keep the best. Fresh nuts, such as walnuts and hazelnuts, are locally grown and available.

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