by weakening cells and allowing oil to come
into contact with the air. Carefully handled,
raw pecans can be stored for years in the
freezer.
Food Words: Pine, Walnut, Flax, Sesame
A number of nut names seem simply to
name the nuts, without a penumbra of
related meanings. This is an indication that
almonds and pistachios (from the Greek)
and hazelnuts (from the Indo-European)
have been basic fare for a very long time.
Pine comes from an Indo-European root
meaning “to swell, to be fat,” probably an
allusion to the fat-like resin that the tree
exudes. Walnut is an Old English
compound of wealh, meaning “Celt” or
“foreigner,” and hnutu, “nut,” a reflection
of the fact that walnuts were introduced to
the British Isles from the east. Flax comes
from an Indo-European root meaning “to
plait,” because flax was originally grown