Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1877-10-17
Edible Nuts.

Nuts are true seeds, and differ from
fruits in having hard shells without any
soft and pulpy enclosure. From the ear
licst times, nuts, especially acorns and
chestnuts, have been used for food, and
at the present day in Southern Europe
chestnus form large portion Of the food
Of the laboring classes, who, besides eat
ing them raw and roasted, make puddings
of them and polenta for pastry. The chest
nut is the most fhrinaceous and least oily
Of all the nuts, and therefore the most ea-
sv of digestion, but it requires boiling or
roasting to burst the starch cells, and rem
der it digestible. The chestnuls OF South.
ern Europe are fur superior in size and
perfection to those that grow in colder
climates. Though little used on our ta.
bles they make delicious desserts.
The walnut is Il native of Persia, and its
fruit is much used in II green state for
pickle. This mt is very oily, and on the
Continent its oil. when fresh. is used as a
substitute for olive oil. In Switzerland
the poor people use the refuse matter af.
ter the oil is extracted, for bread. Wal.
nuts and hickory nuts are often used by
| fancy cooks for shortening and flavoring
cake; the addition Of these nuts makes 4
delicious but very indigestibe article.
Acorns, from remote antiquity, have
been used as food for man and animals
The ancient Brtons lived mostly on
acorns; so, says Galen, did the Arcadians
They are prepared in many shapes, boiled
and roasted, dried and ground and made
into bread. At present they are chiefly
used for fattening hogs, deer and poultry
though in Norway and Sweden they arc
boiled and mixed with corn meal to make
bread.
Hazel nuts and lilberts are the fruits o
the same teG-the former in its wild ant
the latter in its cultivated state. These
nuts arc quite free from oil. At desser
they are eaten with salt.
Fresh roasted peanuts are very agreeable
in their flavor and quite nutritious. InsteaC
Of being munchcd between meals in III
sorts of places, if they were eaten ut tht
table rs part ofthe meal, and thorough,
maslicated, they would prove more whole
some.
The cocoanut is the product of one o
the palms, and grows abundantly in al
tropical regions. The kernel. in its fresl
state is very nutrilive, and when grated
makes excellent cakes or fritters. Tht
milk of the cocoanut forms delicious bev
erage in its native country; a large nu
when fresh will give half pint of milk
When it is very young the pulp is so sot
that it may be eaten with Il spoon, and TIN
shell is so thin and transparent that ii ma,
be used as a lantern. The oil obtained b,
pressure from the kernel is used in making
soap and for burning in lamps. There i
no part of the tree but is employed fo
some useful purpose, though with respec
to fruit the cocoanut is one of the lels
productive of the palm tribe. One tree il
good soil produces about one hundred co
coanuts annually.
Sweet almonds are nutritive, but diff
cult of digestion. The brown husk tina
surrounds the kernel is unwholesome, an,
on account of its injurious qualities al
monds should always be blanched. Thi
is done by simply pouring boiling waite
, upon the kernels. Bitter almonds are pois
onous to all classes of animals Thoug
they do not contain prussic acid, vet, whe
t chewed, chemical change is effected b
which prussic acid is formed, The essenc
of bitter almonds is II most potent poison
) though it is extensively used for tlavoring
In the hands of Il careless or ignorant coo
i it is dangerous, and there are a gre;
: many 1avorings that could take its plae
S altogether.