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 4134 recipes in total:

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Xawaash      Origin: Djibouti	Yeasted Currant Loaf      Origin: Britain	Zanzibar Kashata      Origin: Tanzania
Xerém Tradicional (Traditional Xerem)      Origin: Cape Verde	Yellow Coconut Rice      Origin: Tanzania	Zarzuela de Mariscos (Seafood Zarzuela)      Origin: Spain
Xinxim (Brazilian Chicken and Crayfish in Peanut Sauce)      Origin: Brazil	Yellow Curry with Swiss Chard and Tofu      Origin: Fusion	Zereshk Polo      Origin: Iran
Y Gacen Amhosibl (The Impossible Cake)      Origin: Welsh	Yoghurt and Honey Pancakes with Citrus Fruit      Origin: Britain	Zereshk Polo ba Morgh (Saffron Chicken with Barberry Rice)      Origin: Iran
Yaji (Nigerian Meat Seasoning)      Origin: Nigeria	Yoghurt Lamb Steaks with Minted Yoghurt      Origin: Britain	Zimbabwean Sweet Potato Biscuits      Origin: Zimbabwe
Yaji Spice (Suya Spice Blend)      Origin: Nigeria	Yoghurty Flapjacks      Origin: Britain	Zom (Bitter Greens with Meat)      Origin: Cameroon
Yalanchy Sarma (Armenian Stuffed Vine Leaves)      Origin: Armenia	Yorkshire Curd Tart      Origin: England	Zuppa di Castagne (Chestnut Soup)      Origin: Italy
Yam Balls      Origin: West Africa	Yuletide Fruit Bread      Origin: England	Zuppa di Ciliege (Stewed Cherries)      Origin: San Marino
Yam Curry      Origin: Vanuatu	Zafrani Murgh      Origin: India	Zuppa Paradiso (Paradise Soup)      Origin: Italy
Yam with Greens, Onion, and Okra      Origin: Nigeria	Zafrani Mutton Korma      Origin: Pakistan	Πλατσέντα Λέσβου (Lesbos Placenta)      Origin: Greece
Yapese Taro Fritters      Origin: Federated States Micronesia	Zamé      Origin: Mali
Yeasted Barm Brack      Origin: Ireland	Zanzibar Fish Curry      Origin: Tanzania

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