Peanut (Groundnut)

Peanut is an important oil and food crop; and being a 3rd major oil seed of the world, next to soybean and cotton.

It's seeds contains 25 to 32% protein and 42 to 52% oil. One Kilo gram of peanut is high enough in food energy and provides approximately the same energy value as 2 kilo grams of beef, 1.5 kilo grams of Cheddar cheese, one litre of milk, or 36 medium sized eggs.

The vines with leaves are an excellent high protein hay for horses and are used as ruminant livestock. The pods or shells serve as high fiber roughage in livestock feed, fuel, mulch, and are used in manufacturing fertilizer.

Peanuts are called in many local names, like earth-nuts groundnuts, goober peas, monkey nuts, pygmy nuts and pig nuts.


(Peanuts on it's plant)

Betel nuts (areca nuts)

Betel nuts(areca nuts) are the seeds of Betel palm (Areca catechu), which are native to Malaya. The size of the nuts are about 2 inches(5cm) long and colored between dark-brown to gray.

In general, the betel nuts become mature between the months August and November. The matured betel nuts are boiled in water, cut into slices, and dried in the sun. The driend nuts are then broken down into smaller pieces (sometimes into a powder) and mixed with edible lime (which aids in the absorption of their active ingredients, arecaine and arecoline, to human body). The mixture is then wrappen together in a leaf of the betel pepper (Piper betle) and chewed. To improve the taste and flavor, the betel-lime mixture can be then added with a small amount of nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, tamarind or cardamom.

The alkaloid and arecoline ingredients of Betel nuts are a mild stimulant which produce a feeling of wellbeing, when chewing the above prepared mixture. 

Overuse of betel nuts chewing can cause a feeling of intoxication and convulsions. The habitual and long term betel nut chewers will eventually develop a distinctive red stain of the mouth, teeth, and gums; and sometime it alos cause tooth decay.

Other uses

The betel nuts are used to destroy intestinal worms, and are also used as a dewormer in veterinary medicine.

How betel nut got this name?

Since, the leaves from Piper betle(betel) are chewed together with areca nut and edible lime (the mixture is also called calcium hydroxide,  limbux, or slaked lime); and with that  association, the areca nut has become known as betel nut.

[image: woman holds Betel nut with piper betle]

Macadamia Nuts

Macadamia is grown fot it's edible nuts. The tree can grows up to 12 meter in height. The nut is shaped globose and follicle with a pointed apex. The nuts have a smooth and hard shell, which contains one or two seeds. The inside kernel is white with uniform quality and will shrink slightly after the harvest.

Macadamia nuts can be eaten raw after removed the husks, which covers the nuts. The white kernals are also eaten sometimes roasted by cooking in oil or salted. An edible bland salad oil also made from these nuts. A coffee names 'almond coffee' also made from these nuts.

Macadamia nuts are highly nutritious; and they are very rich in beneficial monounsaturated fats.

see an article from psu.edu, Macadamia nuts can be included in heart healthy diet.

[image: the shelled macadamia nuts]

Pecan Nuts

The pecans tree are large and can grow up height well over 100 feets.

The pecan nuts are shape oval, smooth, up to 2.5 inches long. The outer husk is fleshy at immature and turns to fibrous, and splitting open at maturity. The shells of the fruit are hard, thin, woody. The kernel can be easily separated when mature.

The pecan nuts are edible, with a rich, buttery flavor; and can be directly eaten raw. They can be also prepared into sweet desserts, ice creams and cookery. An oil pressed from pecan nuts are good for salad dressing.

The pecan nuts are shelled and put in the refrigerator in cold storage, to keep about nine months; and it can be keep upto two years if it kept in the freezer. These shelled pecan nuts can also stay good to another additional two months after being removed from the cold storage.

Medicinal facts: A diet rich in these pecan nuts can lower the risk of gallstones, in women. The antioxidants and plant sterols found in pecan nuts can be reduce high cholesterol by reducing the "bad" LDL cholesterol levels. There are scientific evidence suggests, that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, such as pecan nuts, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Pecans tree is native to the lower Mississippi Valley and westward through Texas, and in northern Mexico.

[image: the ripe pecan nuts]

Brazil Nut

The brazil nut tree is grown for it's edible seeds. The brazil trees are among the largest of trees in the Amazon Rainforests, and grows high up to 100 feet. These trees can live upto 500 years and more.

The fruit of the tree is a large capsule with round shape, which is size about 6 inches in diameter, and weighing around 2 kg(4-5 pounds). The outer skin of the fruit is a hard woody shell, which has thickness about 0.5 inch (8 to 12 mm). The capsule contains a small hole at one end. The inside of the fruit capsule contains about 8 to 24 3-sided angular nuts, each with size about 4 to 5 cm long, and are packed compfortably very similar to that of the segments of an orange. The shell of each of these individual 3-sided angular thin nuts are woody and, are fully filled with a white and creamy kernel.

Brazil nuts are often substituted for macadamia nuts and sometimes coconuts in recipes. An oil pressed from these nuts are used as a lubricant in clocks, for making artist's paints, and also in the cosmetics industry.

Nutrition facts: The Brazil nuts are rich in lipid and protein content.

Other facts: Brazil nuts are contains barium and small amounts of radioactive radium. The shell of the nuts contains high levl of aflatoxins, which can lead to liver cancer; and hence restrictions imposed for importing to some countries.

[image: a cut open view of brazil nut pod]

Nutmeg and Mace

This nutmeg plant is grown mainly for it's fruits; and two spices are derived from the fruits are, nutmeg and mace.

The nutmeg fruit is shape oval or pyriform about 2 inches long, colored mottled yellow, and consists of an outer fleshy husk with an inner seed. The husk splits when ripe, exposing the seed. Immediately surrounding the seed, a dried lacy membrane - a leathery in texture, the seed coat(aril of the fruit) is called as 'mace'. The seed kernel inside the fruit is called as 'nutmeg'.

Both nutmeg and mace are similar in taste. The nutmeg has a warm, spicy sweet flavor. The flavors of the nutmeg and mace is due to the volatile oils, present in both tissues. The oil of the nutmeg is obtained by crushing and pressing the seeds, and is called as nutmeg butter.

Nutmeg is usually associated with sweet and spicy dishes — pies, custards, puddings, spice cakes and cookies. It can be also added in soups such as tomatoes, slit pea, chicken or black beans. One whole nutmeg grated equals two to three teaspoons of grounded nutmeg.

The freshness and shelf storage life can be maintained longer if stored in an airtight container.

The first harvest will starts about 7-9 years after planting of the tree, but the trees takes up to 20 years to turn their full potential.

The nutmeg tree is native to the Moluccas and is now cultivated in the West Indies and especially in Grenada.

[image: nutmeg and mace]

Guarana

Guarana fruits are about the size of a coffee berry. The color of guarana fruit's are ranges from brown to red and contains black seeds, and the seeds are partly covered by white arils. Guarana contains almost about twice the amount of caffeine found in coffee beans; and hence, these are considered as an effective energy booster.

Guarana is used mainly to produce soft drink. Guarana soft-drink and beverages may cause jitters-which is also associated with drinking coffee.

Jackfruit

Jack fruits are generally reaches 80 pounds in weight and up to 36 inches long and 20 inches in diameter. The exterior of the fruit is colored green and change to yellow-brown when ripe. The interior consists of large edible bulbs of yellow, banana-flavored flesh that encloses a smooth, oval, light-brown seed. The seed is white and crisp within. There are about 100 or up to 500 seeds in a single fruit.

When the single small leaf above the stem withers and the first color change occurs, it shows the fruit is mature and ready to harvest. When fully ripe, the unopened jack fruit emits a strong odor, and the pulp of the opened fruit smells of pineapple and banana.

The fresh ripe fruit can be eaten raw. The sweet yellow sheaths around the seeds have a taste similar to that of pineapple, but milder juicy.

The seeds can be eaten after boiled or roasted, or boiled and preserved in syrup like chestnuts. The seed are also included in curried dishes. The roasted, dried seeds are ground to make a flour which is blended with wheat flour for baking. The bulbs are boiled in milk, drained off and then cooled will congeal and form a pleasant, orange colored custard. The ripe bulbs can be dried, fried in oil and salted are called as jack fruit chips.

[image: the sweet edible flesh of the jackfruit]

Coconut

The Coconut Tree

Coconut palms have been used since the ancient daya as a source of food, fiber, fuel, water, and shelter. Coconut oil was one of the first, and was the leading vegetable oil until 1962 when eclipsed by soybean oil.

In World wide, 18 billion pounds. coconuts are produced in 92 countries on about 26 million acres with an average yield of 4457 lbs/acre.

Products from Coconut

The primary product from coconut is a dried or fresh endosperm or "meat" of coconutis called copra, the white "meat" found adhering to the inner wall of the shell. It is commonly used in several type of cakes and candies.

The raw copra can be grated and squeezed to obtain coconut milk which can be used for making several candies.

Coconut water is obtained from immature coconuts, providing a welcome source of fresh, sterile water in hot, tropical environments. Coconut oil is expressed from dried or dehydrated copra, which is used in a wide variety of cooked foods and margarine.

Coconut oil can be obtained from a dried copra. In 2002, the coconut oil production was slightly more than the popular olive oil production. The residue left after pressing oil from copra is Coconut cake and is used as livestock feed(animal, fish and farm feed).

When a coconut germinates, a spongy mass forms inside the cavity, so there is no longer water and albumen, but a solid white ball with traces of buttery yellow exterior. It is called as 'coconut apple'. It taste deliciously of coconut, but the texture is moist and yielding, nothing like the hard endosperm it replaces.

[image: Coconut Apple]

The fiber from the husk is called as Coir and is used as packing material, rope, matting, fuel, and in potting mixes.

The leaves of the coconut tree provide materials for baskets, effective roofing materials. The husk and the shells can be used for fuel and are a good source of charcoal. Drained coconuts can be filled with gunpowder and used as Improvised explosive devices.

The sap from the cut-end of an coconut-inflorescence, produces up to a gallon of brown liquid per day, are rich in sugars and vitamin C. It can be boiled down into a brown sugar called "jaggery", and it is being used as a sugar substitute in many areas. Left to ferment, the sap makes an alcoholic toddy, and later vinegar. "Arrack" is made by distilling the toddy, and is a common, potent alcoholic spirit.

The outer part of the trunk of the coconut palm furnishes, a construction of lumber, known as porcupine wood for houses and furniture. The swollen base of the trunk, when hollowed, can be turned into a hula drum that the Hawaiians use for entertainment.

Medicinal Uses

Immature coconut water can be used as an intravenous fluid.

Coconut is commonly used as a traditional home remedy in Pakistan to treat bites from rats.

The monolaurins in the coconut oil have been found to be very powerful antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal agents in Ayurveda.

The coconut milk can be used as a laxative and also used for healing mouth ulcers (In a study with rats, two coconut based preparations one 'the crude warm water extract of coconut milk' and another the 'coconut water dispersion' were studied for their protective effects on drug-induced gastic ulceration. Both substances offered protection against ulceration, with coconut milk producting a 54% reduction vs. 39% for coconut water.)

Coconut Cultivation

Coconut tree can be adaptable to many soil types, and can be grown inland provided adequate drainage and the pH between 5.0 to 8.0. They grow best in areas with mean temperatures of 70-80F. They needs 40-60" of water per year, and will perform better in a high humidity nature.

Coconut trees are typical single trunked palms, reaching up to 80 to 100 ft in height, but generally 20-50 ft in cultivation. Leaves are among the largest of any plant (up to 20 ft), pinnately compound with 200 or more leaflets, and borne in a spiral arrangement at the apex of the trunk. Leaf life span may be less than 3 years. A mature and healthy palms have about 30 leaves and would form a new one each month and let drop the oldest one.

Fully mature fruit require about one year to ripen, and are colored brown or dark yellowish, depending on cultivar. The endosperm, from which the copra and oil are derived, is mature at 10 months after bloom. For coir production, fruit must be harvested about 1 month before full maturity, since the mesocarp fiber turns brittle and dark at maturity.

The young water coconuts are harvested when about 7 months old, just after fruit reaches its full size and prior to mesocarp starts drying.

Coconut Cultivars

Two major classes of coconuts are typically recognized on the basis of stature: tall and dwarf. The ones most commonly planted for commercial purposes are the tall varieties, which are slow to mature and the first flower will come within six to ten years after planting. They produce medium-to-large size nuts and have a life span of sixty to seventy years. The dwarf varieties may have originated as a mutation of tall types. The dwarf variety shall grow to a height of twenty five to thirty feet and begin flower after three years, being only about three feet tall. Their life span is only about thirty years. Although highly difficult to grow, the dwarf varieties are valued because they bear early and are highly resistant to lethal yellowing disease.

In worldwide there are a considerable number of varieties among tall and dwarf coconut trees. Each major coconut has its own dominant tall variety: Here is a few list: Ceylon Tall, Indian Tall, Jamaica Tall, Malayan Tall, Java Tall, and Laguna (which is a widely grown tall type in the Philippines). There are also many dwarf varieties: Malayan Dwarf, Dwarf Green, and Dwarf Orange from India.

There are also some unusual types of coconut palms in different parts of the world. The Macapuno coconut of the Philippines is famous for having no milk cavity. The jelly-like flesh fills the middle and can be eaten with a spoon. The San Ramon variety from the Philippines produces one of the largest nuts known.