Because their shells are extremely hard, they
are sold almost exclusively out-of-shell, often
packed in cans or bottles to protect them from
air and rancidity. Macadamias have the
highest fat content of the tree nuts, and it’s
mostly monounsaturated (65% oleic acid).
Their flavor is mild and delicate.
Peanut This popular nut is not a nut, but the
seed of a small leguminous bush, Arachis
hypogaea, which pushes its thin, woody fruit
capsules below ground as they mature. The
peanut was domesticated in South America,
probably Brazil, around 2000 BCE, and was an
important crop in Peru before the time of the
Incas. In the 16th century, the Portuguese took
it to Africa, India, and Asia, and it soon
became a major source of cooking oil in
China (peanuts have double the oil content of
soybeans). It wasn’t until the 19th century that
Americans thought of peanuts as anything but
animal feed, and not until the early 20th