Most seeds come from fruit that naturally free themselves from the shell, but this is not the case in nuts such as hazelnuts, chestnuts, and acorns, which have hard shell walls and originate from a compound ovary. The general and original usage of the term is less restrictive, and many nuts (in the culinary sense), such as almonds, pistachios, and Brazil nuts, are not nuts in a botanical sense. Common usage of the term often refers to any hard-walled, edible kernel as a nut. Nuts are an energy-dense and nutrient-rich food source.

Botanically, a nut is a fruit with a woody pericarp developing from a syncarpous gynoecium. True nuts include, for example, chestnut, hazelnut and filbert. Culinarily, the term 'nut' is used much more widely, and includes examples of drupes (such as pecans and almonds) or seeds (such as pine nuts and peanuts).

Also widely known as nuts are dry drupes, which include pecans, almonds, macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia), candlenut (Aleurites moluccanus) and the water caltrop (Trapa bicornis). A drupe is an indehiscent fruit that has an outer fleshy part consisting of the exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh, which surround a single pit or stone, the endocarp with a seed (kernel) inside. In a dry drupe, the outer parts dry up and the remaining husk is part of the ovary wall or pericarp, and the hard inner wall surrounding the seed represents the inner part of the pericarp.

Walnuts and hickories (Juglandaceae) have fruit that are difficult to classify. They are considered to be nuts under some definitions but are also referred to as drupaceous nuts.

In common use, a "tree nut" is, as the name implies, any nut coming from a tree. This most often comes up regarding food allergies; a person may be allergic specifically to peanuts (which are not tree nuts but legumes), whereas others may be allergic to the wider range of nuts that grow on trees.

The sweet potato arrived in Europe with the Columbian exchange. It is recorded, for example, in Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book, compiled in England in 1604.

Nuts are eaten by humans and wildlife. Because nuts generally have a high oil content, they are a significant energy source. Many seeds are edible by humans and used in cooking, eaten raw, sprouted, or roasted as a snack food, ground to make nut butters, or pressed for oil that is used in cooking and cosmetics.

Nuts used for food are a common source of food allergens. Reactions can range from mild symptoms to severe ones, a condition known as anaphylaxis, which can be life-threatening. The reaction is due to the release of histamine by the body in response to an allergen in the nuts, causing skin and other possible reactions. Many experts suggest that a person with an allergy to peanuts should avoid eating tree nuts, and vice versa.

The nuts linked to from this page are: acorn; almond; beech nuts; betel nut; brazil nut; bush mango; filbert; ginkgo nut; kola nut; candlenut; cashew; chestnut; coconut; hazelnut; macadamia; ogbono; palm nut; peanut; pecan; pine nut; pistachio; walnut.

The alphabetical list of all the nut-based recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 3996 recipes in total:

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Lychee Spice Smoothie      Origin: American	Magaj      Origin: India	Malaysian Kurma Powder      Origin: Malaysia
M'Baazi      Origin: Kenya	Magimbi ya nadzi (Taro in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Mayotte	Malaysian Laksa      Origin: Malaysia
M'Chuzi wa Nyama (Zanzibar-style Beef Curry)      Origin: Britain	Maharagwe (Spiced Red Beans in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Kenya	Malaysian Lamb Rendang      Origin: Malaysia
Môr-leisiad wedi Potsio gyda Nionyn, Cennin a Ffenigl (Poached Pollack with Onion, Leek and Fennel)      Origin: Welsh	Maharashtrian Masala Bhat (Spicy Maharashtrian Rice)      Origin: India	Malaysian Meat Curry Powder      Origin: Malaysia
M'borokhé (Peanut Sauce with Spinach)      Origin: Mali	Mahi Shekam Por (Persian Stuffed Fish)      Origin: Iran	Malaysian Peanut Sauce      Origin: Malaysia
M'tsolola (Fish and Plantain stew in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Comoros	Maidd ac Ŵy (Egg Whey)      Origin: Welsh	Malewa (Bamboo and Peanut Soup)      Origin: Uganda
Ma'amool B'jowz (Easter Walnut Biscuits)      Origin: Lebanon	Maidd ac Ŵy Hwyaden (Duck Egg Whey)      Origin: Welsh	Mallorcan-style Easter Lamb      Origin: Britain
Maafé      Origin: Mali	Maids of Honour      Origin: England	Mallow Leaf Peanut Sauce      Origin: Fusion
Maafe (Meat Peanut Stew)      Origin: Mali	Maids of Honour Tarts      Origin: Britain	Mallow-leaf Stew      Origin: African Fusion
Maandazi (Swahili Doughnuts)      Origin: Tanzania	Maidstone Biscuits      Origin: England	Malpua with Rabri (Indian Pancakes with Saffron and Rosewater Cream)      Origin: India
Macadamia Nut and Toffee Tart      Origin: Australia	Majarete (Dominican Corn Pudding)      Origin: Dominican Republic	Malvani Fish Curry      Origin: India
Macadamia Nut Cheesecake      Origin: American	Makarara (Orange and Vanillla Comorian Sweet Cake)      Origin: Comoros	Malvani Masala      Origin: India
Macadamia Nut Pie      Origin: Marshall Islands	Makaronia tou Fournou (Oven-baked Macaroni with Layers of Minced Meat)      Origin: Cyprus	Mambá (Spicy Peanut Butter)      Origin: Dominican Republic
Macadamia Tart      Origin: Australia	Make-ahead Mulled Wine Cake      Origin: Britain	Mambazha Pulissery      Origin: India
Macanese Choy Sum      Origin: Macau	Makhan Murgh Wala (Butter Chicken)      Origin: India	Mamoul      Origin: North Africa
Macanese-style Portuguese Curry Chicken      Origin: Macau	Makhni Curry Sauce      Origin: India	Mancarra with Citi (Chicken with Peanuts and Palm Oil)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau
Macaroon-topped Mince Pies      Origin: Britain	Makubi      Origin: Tanzania	Manchester Tart      Origin: England
Macaroons      Origin: Britain	Mal Pua (Coconut Pancakes)      Origin: India	Mandas      Origin: India
Macau-style Portuguese Curry Chickeno (Macau-style Portuguese Curry Chicken)      Origin: Portugal	Malabar Chicken Biryani      Origin: India	Mandas of Cucumber      Origin: India
Machali aur Daal (Fish and Lentil Curry)      Origin: India	Malabar Peralan (Malabar Fish Roast)      Origin: India	Mandas of Red Pumpkin      Origin: India
Mackerel Run Down      Origin: Jamaica	Malagasy Coconut and Vanilla Rice      Origin: Madagascar	Mandelbroit (Mandel Bread)      Origin: Jewish
Mackerel with currant sauce and radicchio      Origin: Britain	Malagasy Vanilla Chicken Curry      Origin: Madagascar	Mandelskorpor (Almond Rusks)      Origin: Denmark
Mada (Green Banana Dumplings)      Origin: Norfolk Island	Malai Curry Sauce      Origin: India	Mandelspritzgebäck (German Almond Christmas Biscuits)      Origin: Germany
Madaba (Cassava Leaf and Coconut Stew)      Origin: Britain	Malai Kofta with Spicy Gravy      Origin: India	Mangai Palakottai Kuzhambu (Raw Mango Jackfruit Seed Curry)      Origin: India
Madeira Loaf Cake      Origin: Britain	Malay Chicken Curry with White Pumpkin      Origin: Anglo-Indian	Mangalorean Prawn Sukka      Origin: India
Madungo Bakes      Origin: Saint Vincent	Malay Chicken Kurma      Origin: Malaysia	Mangalorean Spinach and Black Eyed Beans Curry      Origin: India
Mafé      Origin: Senegal	Malaysian Beriani      Origin: Malaysia	Mango Atjar      Origin: South Africa
Mafé Malienne (Malian Mafé)      Origin: Mali	Malaysian Chicken Curry      Origin: Malaysia	Mango Coconut Ladoo      Origin: Anglo-Indian
Mafé Poulet (Chicken Mafé)      Origin: Senegal	Malaysian Chicken Curry      Origin: Malaysia	Mango Falooda      Origin: Pakistan
Mafa (Breadfruit Pudding)      Origin: Marshall Islands	Malaysian Chicken Curry      Origin: Cocos Islands	Mango Papaya Sherbet      Origin: Nauru
mafè tatou nènn (Naked Peanut Stew)      Origin: Mali	Malaysian Chicken Curry      Origin: Christmas Island	Mango Pomelo Sago Pudding      Origin: China
Maffé de Tabaski (Maffé for Tabaski)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Malaysian Chicken Satay      Origin: Malaysia	Mango Seboseb      Origin: Palau
Maffé Mauritanienne (Aubergines and Pumpkin)      Origin: Mauritania	Malaysian Goat Rendang      Origin: Malaysia
Maffe aux Legumes Arachide (Beef or Lamb in Peanut Butter)      Origin: Senegal	Malaysian Kapitan Chicken      Origin: Malaysia

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