Talk:Nut (fruit)

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[edit] Pistachio

What is the pistachio? Does anyone know this one? Wiwaxia 05:53, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Yep. It's a drupe like walnuts, pecans etc. But, surprisingly, actually closer related to mangoes :-) KristianM

[edit]

Will something grow if a nut is planted?

Yes, but only if the the nut is unroasted, and still alive (aka still fresh, not rancid). I think, but am not sure that the plant grows faster if the shell is removed, but the plant is weaker. 71.199.123.24 06:49, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Allergies

It says in the article that nut allergies are common, and the article puts forth two definitions of nuts, so which one are people allergic to? Or are they allergic to both? I don't really know anything about the matter, and I find it very hard to understand in this article. This needs to be, IMO, fixed to be more understandable. --Sterio 00:10, 21 November 2005 (UTC)

Both. Basically it's common for people to be alergic to parts of a plant that are plantable. This is seeds basically, excluding the fleshy edible parts. The reason some plant are worse then others has to do with which proteins are in the seed. Some proteins are harder to split into constituent amino acids then others. No one is alergic to amino acids (most of them anyway), but if an un-split protein winds up inside the blood stream it can cause an allergy. Typically babies have immature digestive systems that don't fully split the proteins. 71.199.123.24 06:49, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Is a Walnut/Pecan a nut?

The Walnut and Pecan both have a fruit (inedible) that surrounds the pit. Based on the distinction between a nut and a seed this would indicate that either the distinction if faulty or they are not true (botanical) nuts.

So do hazelnuts, beechnuts, etc. The historical botanical definition of a nut was written to include plants then treated in the order Fagales, with various exclusions written in to count out other plants (including those then treated in the separate order Juglandales). Since then, genetic evidence has shown that the "Juglandales" are nested wholly within the Fagales (see e.g. the phylogeny at Missori BG research). It makes good sense to adapt the definition of 'nut' accordingly, particularly as the seeds thereby included are all popularly called nuts. - MPF 15:47, 4 January 2006 (UTC)


I disagree. Nut is a morphological term, and walnuts are not nuts. Using 'nuts' this way, turns it into a taxonomic term which is already covered by the group name Fagales. The non-nutty parts surrounding hazel or walnuts are of different anatomical origin, and furthermore are boundaries for when a drupe has a fleshy or a leathery covering not well-defined. Calling what 'we think of as a nut' a botanical nut is ends up being a much too imprecise definition. Nuts and drupes and various other types of fruit have developed in many different plantgroups outside Fagales: try decribing new plant species in one of those groups without an anatomical framework for your descriptions. - KristianMikk 15:58, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

--- This article needs repairing!!!
Exactly like peaches, walnuts are drupes (see the article for technical clarification) because they have pulp outside the shell... walnuts have a pulp; that pulp is removed and the walnut dried, and that's what we buy in the supermarkets; that the walnut's pulp isn't edible and we eat the seed, while in the peach we eat the pulp and discard the seed, does not change the way that botanically the walnut is a drupe and not a nut. :) Hazelnuts, like acorns, are not drupes – they are nuts (botanical term) and they don't have pulp. Nuts (botanical term) are dry fruit, while drupes are pulpy fruits. Curiosity: in Portuguese the problem is much more serious, because the word walnut (noz) is the same as nut (noz). --portugal (talk) 16:01, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Allergies

I have been told that the allergy is due to a mold that is found on seeds. This may not be true as it is in direct conflict with what the article states.

Allergies are caused by natural constituents of the nuts. What you are thinking of is probably Aflatoxin (a poison, not an allergen) produced by some moulds in the genus Aspergillus - MPF 15:58, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Benefit to plant

What is the benefit to the plant of making its seeds edible? 71.199.123.24 06:49, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

I'm not positive, but I believe it's just a consequence of the nut being an energy source for the young plant. In much the same way, I can't see a benefeit to a plant's stem and leaves being edible (it certainly doesn't improve chances of survival) and yet in many, if not most, cases they still are. -GamblinMonkey 14:09, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bowl of few nuts, plus many peanuts and cashews

Maybe this picture belongs rather with an article on Nut (culinary), as it's a poor example of Nut (fruit), since it is composed predomoninantly of things that are not nuts? KP Botany 17:20, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] cholesterol?

I read "Rabbit at Rest" by John Updike and in that book the protagonist is not allowed to eat nuts because of their cholesterol content. I thought nuts were healthy. Was that a misguided belief at the time of publication, or do nuts actually have a high cholesterol content? Zigzig20s 12:10, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Dunno... but this is the discussion page of an encyclopedia - try asking at Yahoo Answers or something instead.

No. Only animal products have cholesterol. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.164.116.245 (talk) 05:14, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Corn Nuts?

Does anyone seriously consider a corn nut to be a nut... even in the culinary sense? Frail Elf 05:00, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

I'm not an expert, but I don't think corn nut fits the definition given for a nut, even in just the culinary sense. It's a snack food. I've removed it from the article. Swax 07:21, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "Waste Products"

My clarification is such:

the original: that nuts are superior to meat because they are free from "waste products"

my edit: that nuts are free from "feces"

is correct and useful, since the term "waste products" is misleading and vague. The slaughtering process invariably results in intestinal material contaminating the meat, which makes people sick. the term "waste products" is so vague as to be unhelpful, since waste products could mean horns and hooves, or pelts. What Kellogg was saying is that nuts are better, because they don't have E. coli on them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.245.42.202 (talk • contribs)

I suspect that your edit just looked like mindless Wikipedia:vandalism; sorry about that (well, not that I made the mistake, but I could have). We do need some wording like "contamination", because neither "waste products" alone nor "feces" alone really makes the point very clearly. The wording "the intestinal contaminants that are present on meat, such as E. coli" looks fine to me. (I don't have the Kellogg article handy so I'm writing this assuming this is really what Kellogg was intending). Kingdon 21:18, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Advocacy of nuts by John Harvey Kellogg

Why is this part of the main article? It smells like advertising or myth-building. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ojmorales0002 (talk • contribs)

I'm not really sure one way or the other. Can someone find some evidence about the importance or non-importance of this? For example, were nuts considered healthy before Kellogg? Did he have a big impact on public perception of nuts (in, say, the United States? Europe? Worldwide?)? Kingdon 19:20, 12 August 2007 (UTC)
Well I'm going to remove it until someone does prove its important. The thing does not say anything about the impact... but does manage to say that Kellogg was correct in claiming that "nuts were truly one of the earth's finest bounties". Clearly highly POV, although I'm not sure who's POV... Alkrensel 07:48, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Article Deleted

The article was deleted (apparently as an act of vandalism) by a user with IP 70.110.23.81. I've reverted the article to its previous state. Fysidiko 21:12, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Joseph

Just wondering, what is with the 'Nuts are most liked by Joseph' headline? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.173.113.138 (talk) 03:27, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Chestnut picture

The objects shown in the chestnuts picture look suspiciously like buckeyes to me. The chestnuts sold during the holiday season are darker tinted and more monochromatic. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.171.183.100 (talk) 22:00, 28 April 2008 (UTC)