Here are nuts that you have probably never eaten before!
10 - Red Walnuts Most of us know about walnuts.
As kids we tried to pick them out of our brownies, because let’s face it, who liked walnuts
as a kid?!
However, how many of us knew that there was such a thing as a Red Walnut?
Supposedly, they’re much sweeter than their walnut cousins and can be used for all the
same things.
Snack?
Check.
Snack supplements?
Check!
Red Walnut oil?
Oh yeah.
Red Walnut butter?
Like I said...anything regular walnuts can do, Red walnuts can do.
Maybe even better!
Even though it’s an invented plant that looks peculiar, the red walnut isn’t genetically
modified.
These nuts were first conceived in California in 1991 when researchers from the University
of California crossed a regular persian walnut with a English Walnut variety that has a reddish
skin.
In 1999, the combination was patented!
The most common red walnut, the Robert Livermore, apparently tastes like a regular English walnut
but it’s bolder and less bitter because of the lower tannin content.
This gives these nuts a creamy texture and allows the natural nutty flavor to be more
prominent than regular walnuts, making this a nut we definitely want to try!
What’s your favorite nut?
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9 - Tiger Nut I feel like there’s gonna be a ton of jokes
about Tiger nuts here.
We’re not gonna take the easy route; we’ll let you guys handle that in the comment section!
Soooo, anyways, about these Tiger Nuts.
Known scientifically as Cyperus esculentus, we’re glad it’s named the Tiger nut because
that just rolls off the tongue much better.
Pause.
Okay, okay, we’ll stop.
For thousands of years, this nut has been used by people all over the world.
Prehistoric tools have been discovered with traces of tigernut granules.
It makes for a great dried fruit snack that’s supposedly tasty AND nutritious.
It also makes a great drink called Tigernut milk, which is pretty popular in The Mediterranean.
The earliest records of tiger nuts date back to ancient Egypt, where they were valuable
and loved enough to be entombed and discovered with buried Egyptians.
It eventually spread into Europe thanks to Arab traders, where it’s still widely eaten.
Some scientists even believe that certain pre-human hominids ate this nut as a part
of their diet 2 million years ago!
8 - Red Bopple Nut If you ask us, the name red bopple nut is
much better than the official name Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia nut.
Red bopple nut as a name is just a much better choice.
This nut is found in the subtropical rainforests of Queensland, Australia and parts of new
Zealand.
While the seeds from the nuts are edible and quite nutritious, they’re overshadowed by
its cousin, the Macadamia Nut, which is extremely tasty.
The seeds are rarely sold commercially and the trees on which they grow are pretty tough
to manage in a garden, both big reasons why you’ve never tried them before.The red bopple
nut will only begin to produce nuts after about five to six years of growth!
However, the amount of nuts being produced do increase up to a natural limit as the tree
ages.
Some trees can produce up to around 170 pounds of fruit.
It’s important that the nut is eaten or processed while fresh because once the nut
is out of the shell, the nut will oxidise rapidly with a deterioration in the taste.
The nut has a texture similar to coconut flesh and tastes like a cross between a macadamia
and a coconut.
Okay, that actually sounds amazing doesn’t it?!
7 - Areca Nut Also known as a betel nut, the Areca nut is
the fruit of the areca palm.
Found in parts of East Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Tropical Pacific, it’s also called
the Betel Nut because it’s often wrapped in betel leaves.
This is a probably a nut you’ve never had, and in the interest of your own health, you
should probably keep it that way.
Consumption of this nut is bad because it’s a known carcinogen.
People in Asia and africa chew on the nut because it’s kind of like chewing tobacco
in terms of the effects.
People have been chewing on Areca nuts wrapped in betel leaves for thousands of years.
In fact, it’s pretty much considered a tradition.
Much like smoking, it’s somewhat of a cultural activity that’s really bad for your health.
In Vietnam, for example, it’s tradition for the families of a bride and groom to chew
on betel nuts before they discuss wedding plans.
Habitual users of betel nuts are at high risk of mouth cancer and Oral submucous fibrosis.
That…..just sounds really unpleasant!
6 - Candlenut Meet the cousin of the Macadamia Nut.
Found mainly in Southeast Asia, the Aleurites moluccana is often called The Candlenut because
it’s used to make candles.
These nuts are also a pretty important component of Southeast Asian cooking.
You’ll often find them in curry, soups, and pastas as a means of adding thickness
and texture rather than adding for flavor in the food.
In fact, there’s pretty much no point to eat them raw because they lack flavor!
Oh yeah, if these nuts are eaten raw they can become toxic and you’ll probably end
up spending some quality time in the bathroom!
This is neutralized when the nut is cooked.
During meal prep, these nuts are roasted and the kernels are removed.
Then they’re ground up into a paste, which adds somewhat of a creamy texture to food.
They supposedly taste kinda like Macadamia nuts, except slightly more bitter, but sugar
is usually added into the mix.
In China, the oil from Candlenuts is often used for dyes, skin care treatments, and soap.
Because the oil content in these nuts are so high it's the reason why they can be used
for these applications!
5 - Coco de Mer Nut Some people call it the sea coconut, or the
double coconut.
Other people call it the Coco de Mer Nut….which is what we’ll go with today.
The Loiceda, the tree that produces these nuts, is only found in the Seychelles islands
of Praslin and Curieuse.
Do we need to say how rare this nut is?
Way back before the Seychelles were inhabited, these nuts would fall off the trees and float
across the ocean to places such as the Maldives.
The people there had no clue where they’d come from.
Naturally, people came up with some wild rumors and mythology.
For example, some seaman claimed that these large nuts were from the Indian ocean from
some large underwater forest.
Because they were so rare, any Coco der Mer nut found in the Maldives back then had to
be given to the King as a gift.
It wasn’t until eventually when the trees were discovered on Seychelles that people
figured out where the nuts came from.
As far as practical uses go, this nut is used to enhance the flavor soups in southern Chinese
cuisine.
The nut is also used in traditional Chinese medicine.
The tough outer shells are also used, such as to make bowls.
4 - Bat Nuts Officially known as a water caltrop, the Bat
Nut is also known as the Buffalo Nut, Devil Pod, Ling Nut, and Singhara.
This things got a lot of nicknames!
As an aquatic plant, it grows in slow moving tropical waters in parts of Africa and Eurasia.
While it might not be something you’d snack on these days, archeological findings suggest
that it was once an important supplement in human diets.
Prehistoric societies often grew them to go along with their regular prehistoric meals.
In times of crop failures, it’s believed that Bat Nuts became a dietary mainstay in
times of need.
In India and Pakistan these nuts are grown in freshwater sources and are sometimes eaten
raw as a dried fruit.
They even be ground into flour.
Bat nuts were also an important part of religious ceremonies during The Zhou Dynasty.
In Europe Bat Nuts are such a rarity that they’re pretty much never eaten anymore.
3 - Mongongo Nuts In parts of Africa such as Namibia, Botswana,
Zambia and Zimbabwe, Mongongo Nuts fall each year between the months of March and May.
Inside a hard, egg shaped shell, is a small, extremely healthy nut that’s a staple in
some of the diets of people in the area.
Given that they’re abundant, store well, and allegedly taste pretty darn good, the
Mongongo Nut has been a huge hit in African culture for thousands of years.
The popular method of consumption seems to be roasting them.
Apparently elephants eat them too, as the nuts can be collected from their droppings,
if you’re into that sort of thing.
The oil from the nuts are also used as a body rub during winter months to help keep skin
from getting too dry.
Today, the kernels are often sold in markets by people from small villages, and it’s
quickly taken off as a cash crop in Southern Africa.
More than 3,000 individuals now sell kernels to Kalahari Natural Oils, which sources the
oil for international skin care brands such as the Body Shop.
2 - Bunya Pine Nut Who knew something that almost looks like
a dinosaur egg would yield something tasty?!
Native to Queensland, Australia, Bunya Pine Nuts have edible seeds that are encased within
a large shell….which is encased in a larger cone.
The cones grow on tall trees that reach impressive heights of more than 100 feet, and these trees
live for up to 600 years!
Much like the chestnut that it resembles, the bunya pine Nut is quite tasty and pretty
versatile as well.
They can be eaten raw, but you can also boil or roast them for better flavor.
They seem to make a great addition to desserts.
There’s a dessert called Steamed Bunya Nut Pudding that involves mixing in minced bunya
pine nuts.
There’s also a Bunya Nut Pesto recipe out there if you want something a bit more hearty.
Bunya Pine Nuts have been eaten for a lonnnng time.
This nut has been an important part of the Aborigine diet for thousands of years.
Every summer the Bunya Pine Trees in Australia begin to drop their cones, which weigh up
to 22 pounds, so obviously no one wants to be walking around under these trees when a
cone is dropping!
Dinosaurs that used to roam present day Queensland apparently also snacked on the pine cones
from Bunya Nut Trees.
If you ever get the chance to try a bunya pine nut, you can be like “Yeah, I’m eating
dinosaur food!”
1 - Breadnut Congratulations breadnut, you have the most
confusing name on the list.
Not only is it not a nut, it’s not bread either.
But we decided to include it on the list because it’s just interesting!
It’s essentially a type of fruit that’s very healthy.
Some vegetarians love it because it contains a lot of protein, vitamins, and minerals that
are essential in our diets.
Tropic Hispanic cultures have had the breadnut as a staple in their diet.
Breadnuts grow abundantly in the warm, wet climates and they're easy to harvest and store.
The breadnut was originally native to New Guinea and the Philippines, but now it's grown
as far away as West Africa, as well as in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
The flesh and seeds of the breadnut are often made into a curry and cooked with coconut
milk.
When the breadnut is green, it's treated like a vegetable.
Immature breadnuts are often used in stews and soups.
The white pulp is usually shredded like cabbage and braised, but the pulp isn't used when
the breadnut is ripe.
And of course, let’s not forget, it’s even reputed to be an aphrodisiac!
Here’s what’s next!