We’ve all heard the jingle, “Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t.” However, if statistics and menus are any indication, then we as chefs and product developers need to mind the first part of this ditty. According to the Economic Research Service of the USDA, per capita consumption of tree nuts has grown significantly from 1980 to 2001. As a matter of fact, the consumption of certain nuts has doubled since the early 1980s — namely almonds, macadamias and pistachios. Other tree nuts have remained fairly constant through the decades; walnuts and pecans’ consumption patterns have held steady for about 20 years. As a vegetarian, I have personally learned to incorporate more nuts into my daily diet, and it really wasn’t difficult. I did this for many of the reasons talked about here.
Before we proceed, we must clarify certain nomenclature. Botanically speaking, nuts are one-seeded “fruits” such as acorns, chestnuts and hazelnuts. Commonly, the word “nut” is used for any seed or fruit having an edible kernel surrounded by a hard or brittle covering. In common usage, many of what we call nuts are not nuts at all, but kernels (pits, seeds or even legumes) covered by a hard coating. Peanuts, for example, are technically legumes; Brazil nuts are actually multiple seeds within a pod; and almonds are pits. Nevertheless, we commonly refer to these, along with cashews, pecans, pistachios and walnuts, as nuts, and so, for this article, I will do the same — after all, this is not a botany class. Nut-ritional benefitsPeople have consumed nuts for as long as food-usage documentation goes back. In fact, our early prehistoric ancestors sought out nuts during their “hunting and gathering” ventures. One reason is that nuts are high in fat. However, this can be good or bad. The good part is that nuts provide a great source of nutrients, especially fats. This comes in handy when you are not sure where your next meal will come from (not something today’s hominids have to worry about). The bad part is that because of high fats content, care must be taken when handling, storing and preparing nuts for present-day consumption, because the oils are very susceptible to rancidity. Fortunately, most of the fats in tree nuts, approximately 80%, consist of the “good kind.” That is, unsaturated (both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated). Unsaturated fats have been found to assist in the prevention of coronary heart disease. They help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels while maintaining the level of HDL (good) cholesterol, thus promoting a good LDL/HDL ratio. In addition to the beneficial fats, nuts are good sources of many other nutrients, such as vitamins B1 and B2, calcium, iron, potassium, and the all too-elusive essential fatty acids. In fact, nuts are so nutritious, they remind me of the soybean (which can also be processed and used as a sort of nut, but that’s another story). On the culinary sideNuts are extremely nutritious, but do the benefits stop there? If they did, this article would be finished. However, using nuts in product and recipe development goes beyond nutrition. Product designers can obtain a true culinary benefit when using nuts. Think about all the dishes that use nuts: for improved texture (Think of the crunch of walnuts in a green salad.); flavor (Where would baklava or Turtles be without nuts?); appearance enhancement (Picture that wonderful gateau with sliced natural almonds on the side.); and last, but not least, customer perception. To consumers, nuts increase the value and quality of the dish. Consider this: How often do you see nuts on a menu for an upscale restaurant vs. the menu for a cafeteria? OK, some cafeterias are using more nuts, but that proves my original point. One more salient point: Nuts are very versatile, and can adapt to every meal period, from cereals and snacks to main entrées and desserts. One characteristic must not be overlooked or minimized when designing products with nuts: their allergenicity. A portion of the populace has an allergy to tree nuts and peanuts; both of these appear on the list of the eight most-common allergies. Some allergic reactions may be benign, but others can be fatal, so everyone involved with the production of nut-containing products must understand the seriousness of the issue. The federal government mandates that all products containing nuts be so labeled to alert those with nut allergies. Manufacturers and foodservice operators must also be vigilant when preparing items without nuts in the vicinity of products that do contain nuts, to avoid transferring small amounts of nuts to the wrong product. Actually, items prepared close to nut-containing products are labeled as such; look at the label on plain M&M’s. Bottom line: Err on the side of safety, as it only takes a small amount of nuts to initiate an allergic response. Storage and usageNuts’ high fat content, and unsaturated fats in particular, makes them very susceptible to oxidative rancidity. Therefore, to prolong shelf life, storage is a major consideration. Most end users buy their nuts already shelled; this further compounds the storage issue. Unshelled, nuts will keep quite easily at room temperature for about one year. However, removing the protective shell exposes the nuts to oxygen, which hastens oxidation. Shelled nuts, either natural or blanched, are best stored at around 40¾F and 50% relative humidity. Buying smaller quantities, and thereby increasing turnover, also helps ensure freshness.
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