The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1877-09-01
Edible Nuts.

Nuts are true seeds, and differ from
fruits in having hard shells without any
soft Of pulpy enclosure. From the earliest
times nuts, especially acorns and ehestnuts,
have been used for food, and at the pres
ent day in Southern Europe chestnuts
form large portion of the food Of the la
boring classes, who besides eating them
raw and roasted, make puddings Of them
and polenta for pastry. The Chestnut is
the most iarinaeeous and the lenst oily OF
all the nuts, and therefore it is the most
easy of digestion, but it requires boiling
or roasting to burst the starch cells aud
render it digestibe. The chestnuts Of
Southern Europe are far superior in size
and perfection to those that grow in colder
climates. Though little used on our tables,
they make delicious desserts.
The walnut is a native Of Persia, and
its fruit is much used in the green state as
a pickle. This nut is very oily, and on
the Continent its oil when fresh, is used in
cooking as substitute for olive oil. In
Switzerland the poor people use the refuse
matter after the oil is extracted, for bread.
Walnuts and hickory nuts are often used
by fancy cooks for shortening and favor
ing cake; the addition of these nuts makes
n delicious but very indigestible article
Acorns from remote antiquity have been
used as food for man aud animals The
ancient Britons lived mostly on acorns; so
says Galen did the Arcadians. They were
prepared in many shapes, boiled and roas-
ted, dried and ground and made into bread.
At present they are chiefly used for fat
tening hogs, deer, and poultry, though in
Norway and Sweden they are boiled aud
mixed with cornmeal to make bread.
Hazelnuts aud iilberts are the fruit of
the same tree, the former in its wild and
the latter in its cultivated state. These
nuts are quite free from OIL At dessert
they are eaten with salt
Fresh roasted peanuts ARE very agreea-
bic in their flavor and quite nutritious.
Instead of being munched between meals,
ia all sorts Of places, if they were eaten at
the table as a part of the meal and thor
oughly masticated, they would prove more
wholesome.
The coconut is product Of one of the
palms, and grows abundantly in all tyopi-
cal regions. The kernel, in its fresh state,
is very nutritive and when grated makes
excellent cakes or fritters. The milk Of
the coconut forms delicious beverage in
its native country, large nut when fresh
will give half pint of milk. When it is
very young the pulp is so soft that it may
be eaten with spoon and the shell is so
thin and transparent that it may be used
as lantern. The oil obtained BY pres
sure from the kernel is used for burning
in lamps and for making fine soap. There
is no part of the tree but is employed for
some useful purpose, though with respect
to fruit the coconut is one Of the least pro-
ductive of the palm tribe. One tree in
good soil produces about one hundred CO.
conuts annually.
Sweet almonds are nutritive, but diff
cult Of digestion. The brown husk that
surrounds the kernel is unwholesome, and
on account of its injurious qualities al
monds should always be blanched. This
is done by simply pouring boiling water
upon the kernels, Bitter almonds are
poisonous to all classes of animals. Though
they do not contain pru1sic acid, yet, when
chewed, chemical change is effected by
which prussic acid is formed The es-
senee of bitter almonds is most potent
poison, though it is extensively used for fla
voring. In the hands of a careless, iguo-
rant cool it is dangerous, and there are
great many aavorings that could well take
is place altogether.