On Food and Cooking

The bulk of most nuts consists of the
embryo’s swollen storage leaves, or
cotyledons, but coconuts and pine nuts are
monolithic masses of endosperm, and the
Brazil nut is a swollen embryonic stem.
Unlike most grains and legumes, nuts are
delicious when eaten in their dry, nutrient-
concentrated state, somewhat crisped and
browned by a quick roasting. Their weak cell
walls make them tender, their low starch
content prevents them from seeming floury,
and their oil gives them a mouth-watering
moistness.
An important feature of the nuts is the
skin, a protective layer of varying thickness
that adheres to the kernel. Chestnut skins are
thick and tough, hazelnut skins papery and
brittle. The nut skin is usually reddish-brown
in color and astringent to the taste. Both
qualities are due to the presence of tannins
and other phenolic compounds, which may
make up a quarter of the skin’s dry weight.