9781422280485

Chemistry and Classification

▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼

Legumes, Drupes, and Nuts

Did you know a peanut is actually not a nut? Technically, it’s a legume, a type of plant that has edible seeds enclosed in pods. Other legumes include chickpeas, fava beans, soybeans, and many other kinds of beans. Nuts are the seeds of nut trees. They grow inside of hard shells. Unlike legume pods, which split open easily when they are ready for harvest, nutshells must be cracked to get to the edible part inside. Related to legumes and nuts are drupes. These are fruits that have a hard shell inside them, and inside the shell is an individual seed. Some drupe seeds we eat, like walnuts and almonds. But with other drupes, like peaches or plums, we get rid of the seed (what we might call the pit) and eat the fleshy fruit. Whichever one we’re eating—legumes, nuts, or drupe seeds—we can be assured we’re getting a healthy dose of protein.

▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲ Like peanuts, chickpeas are a legume.

11