![]() ![]() This is why you’ll never find them sold in the shells. ![]() The outer fleshy part of the cashew seed has a double shell that is quite irritating to the skin, similar to poison ivy. The cashew apple itself, which is more like a fleshy stem, is also eaten, used in cooking, preserved in jams and chutneys, and used to make an alcoholic liquor. It is a kidney-shaped drupe that actually develops before the cashew apple. The true fruit grows at the end of this structure. What appears to be a pretty pear-shaped fruit is actually a false fruit, accessory fruit, or pseudocarp that develops from the pedicle and the receptacle of the cashew flower. The cashew drupe can be confusing as it appears that the ‘edible nut’ portion grows underneath the fruit, which is sometimes called a cashew apple. Cultivated varieties split open when mature. These ripen to a reddish-yellow color similar to the color of some autumn leaves. Pistachio fruits have a fleshy outer hull as almonds do. Pistachios are in the same family as cashews ( Anacardiaceae), so, yes, cashews aren’t true nuts, either. Pistachios Aren’t Nuts Either – Another Drupe! Blanched almonds are almonds that have been treated with hot water to remove this skin. The inner seed or ‘nut’ of an almond, the part that we eat, has a thin brown skin covering it. Almonds with Shell Intact Blanched Almonds Not often, but once in a while, two seeds appear inside the inner shell. When an almond fruit matures, the hull splits and separates from the shell and the fruit falls from the tree. The ‘nut’ we call the almond is this inner seed. The outer part of the almond is not edible and the inner part that surrounds the seed, the endocarp or shell, must be removed. Well, one way to tell is that in a true nut, the seed, or flesh of the nut will be fused to the shell. After all, true nuts have a protective husk over the inner shell. However, unlike the fleshy exocarp of a peach or plum, the almond fruit has a thick, leathery outer covering, or hull, covered with a fine downy growth and having a greyish-green color.īut, it can be hard to tell the difference between these non-nut nuts and true nuts. They come from the same genus as the peach, Prunus. Some drupes, like almonds, ( Prunus dulcis or Prunus amygdalus) have edible inner seeds. The pits or seeds of these fruits are not edible, although we can extract and use the oil from some of them. Upon learning this, you’ve probably had an aha moment. An olive is also a drupe or stone fruit and so is a coconut. Familiar examples of drupe fruits, sometimes called stone fruits, are peaches, nectarines, prunes, apricots, cherries, and mangoes. A drupe fruit is a fruit with an outer fleshy part that surrounds an inner shell or ‘pit’ with a seed inside. A few examples are candlenuts, kola nuts (used to flavor the first colas), and palm nuts.Īn almond is a drupe fruit. ![]() Most of the other true nuts are either not well-known in the west or not as commercially important. In addition to walnuts, chestnuts, and acorns, hazelnuts and filberts also are true nuts. Botanically, a nut is one-seeded, dry fruit with a hard shell or ‘pericarp.’ Only a relative handful of the foods we consider nuts actually meet this definition. To be clear, nuts aren’t all that different from nut-like foods like almonds. Pecans, although they seem somewhat similar to walnuts, are not actually nuts, though. Walnuts, chestnuts, acorns, for example, are true nuts. "I think we are stuck with it," Jernstedt said.First, before you’re whole world starts crumbling and you wonder if up is really down, some nuts are actually nuts. Most consumers are pretty set on their culinary idea of a nut, and some of the technical language for botanists goes back to classical scientists, like Aristotle. But changing the names now would be tough for both consumers and botanists, she said. Why Cashews Aren't Sold In The Shell By Sylvia Pamboukian Posted SeptemTweet Listen Now: Why Cashews Aren't Sold In The Shell -2:01 Part of the fun of eating walnuts or pecans is. If we were to make grocery store shelves more botanically accurate, there would be signs for "almond seeds," "Brazil seeds" and "peanut legumes" placed closer to peas than nuts, Jernstedt said. (1.8 to 2.7 kilograms) - falls to the ground at maturity, and rodents usually gnaw through its tough exterior and aid in spreading the "seeds." The round, wood-like pod - which weighs 4 to 6 lbs. The roughly 1.5-inch (3.8 centimeters) snacks are disqualified from being true nuts, because 10 to 25 of them grow inside a single pod, according to the New York Botanical Garden. Is it safe to cut off the mold and eat the rest?īrazil nuts are not legumes or drupes. Does washing fruits and vegetables make them safe? What's the difference between a fruit and a vegetable? ![]()
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