# Why aren't peanuts, pecans and almonds real nuts?



## RadishRose (Dec 28, 2020)

I knew peanuts are not nuts, but many others are not either, to my surprise.

:Almonds, pistachios, peanuts, cashews and even pecans — they're all just masquerading as nuts. How did we get it so wrong? The trouble is that buyers and botanists think about nuts very differently."

https://www.livescience.com/what-ar...j_cGKlMp1v6pF7IeviXFhgwTBzIKIGobx-H5rcm6EDQ8M


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## win231 (Dec 28, 2020)

Another interesting tidbit I found out years ago (at least for me).
Coffee beans are not beans; they are seeds.  They grow inside coffee cherries - which are an edible fruit that look like the cherries we're familiar with.  And getting the coffee into your cup involves several steps.


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## Rosemarie (Dec 29, 2020)

win231 said:


> Another interesting tidbit I found out years ago (at least for me).
> Coffee beans are not beans; they are seeds.  They grow inside coffee cherries - which are an edible fruit that look like the cherries we're familiar with.  And getting the coffee into your cup involves several steps.


But beans are seeds. Plant a bean and it will grow into a plant.
Has anyone ever planted a peanut? It easily sprouts and grows into a very attractive plant. The peanuts develop in the soil, like potatoes.


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## Lewkat (Dec 29, 2020)

RadishRose said:


> I knew peanuts are not nuts, but many others are not either, to my surprise.
> 
> :Almonds, pistachios, peanuts, cashews and even pecans — they're all just masquerading as nuts. How did we get it so wrong? The trouble is that buyers and botanists think about nuts very differently."
> 
> ...


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## Judycat (Dec 29, 2020)

If a walnut is a true nut, why isn't a pecan? I may agree with peanuts, cashews and even pistachios not being true nuts, but I call BS on the rest of this provincial hair-splitting. No one need agree.


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## RadishRose (Dec 29, 2020)

Judycat said:


> If a walnut is a true nut, why isn't a pecan? I may agree with peanuts, cashews and even pistachios not being true nuts, but I call BS on the rest of this provincial hair-splitting. No one need agree.


I just had to look it up, @Judycat -

*Pecan* - Wikipedia​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecan
*A* *pecan*, like the fruit of all other members of the hickory genus, is not truly a *nut*, but is technically a drupe, a fruit with a single stone or pit, surrounded by a husk. The husks are produced from the exocarp tissue of the flower, while the part known as the *nut* develops from the endocarp and contains the seed.


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## tbeltrans (Dec 29, 2020)

Why aren't peanuts, pecans and almonds real nuts?​Because the real nuts are in Washington, wreaking havoc with our country.

Tony


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## Judycat (Dec 29, 2020)

RadishRose said:


> I just had to look it up, @Judycat -
> 
> *Pecan* - Wikipedia​
> 
> ...


Walnuts also are surrounded by some sort of tissue  or husk, as well, covering the walnut shell with the seed inside, yet it is considered a true nut. The only difference is there are two types of reproductive flowers, male and female, on the same tree.  I guess this is where I become confused. Who gets to say only these are nuts while the others aren't? Rhetorical question, I think I know who. Those damn walnut loving botanists.


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## MarciKS (Dec 29, 2020)

*won't keep me from liking peanuts, cashews and walnuts. i don't care. they're all nuts to me. *lol**


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## Phoenix (Dec 31, 2020)

I've been told I'm a nut.


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