When we journey into tropical regions we find a great
many very tough, but extremely valuable, nuts to crack,
and first and foremost is the cocoanut, which is the prin-
cipal food and wealth of the natives of the South Sea
Islands, the tree itself (Cocos miciferd] serving all the
multifarious uses of the household. It forms the timber of
the huts, the leaves are used for thatch, the fibre for mats
and ropes, the nuts for eating, the shells for drinking and
cooking utensils ; the milky juice in the nut forms a pleasant
drink, and in the East Indies, toddy and arrack are extracted
from the tree.
Latterly the cocoanut has become a favourite ingredient
for cakes, puddings, and biscuits, but it always appears
indigestible, probably because not used when quite fresh.
The oil extracted from the nut has also many uses, but it
quickly becomes rancid. Each cocoa palm yields about a
hundred nuts, and it may be readily understood that a grove
of these trees would be of extreme value in the tropical
countries which produce them. Two of these graceful
cocoa palms may be seen growing in the gardens of the
Due de Rochefoucault, at Cannes, but, like the other palms,
they do not thrive and bear fruit in Europe.
The Brazil nut, although well known as a fruit, is not so
much used in this country as the other nuts we have men-
tioned, and few people are aware that these triangular nuts
are the contents of a large outer shell of extreme hardness,
which forms a nut as large as a child's head, within which
the Brazil nuts of commerce are tightly packed, sometimes
to the number of fifteen to twenty or more. Humboldt
described this nut as one of the most extraordinary fruits of
South America. It grows on a tree 120 feet high, and at
i;6 OUR VIANDS
the time of ripening the natives dare not enter the woods
where they grow without a wooden buckler over the head,
lest they should be killed by the falling nuts. The monkeys
are said to unite to break the shell with stones, and the
Indians hold a feast at the ingathering, which they say is
the feast of animals as well as of men. The fall of the ripe
nut from so great a height is, it may be supposed, generally
sufficient to break it, otherwise it must be a very hard nut
to crack even for men ; but, besides the reputed breaking
by the Capuchin apes, the Cavia aguti is said to be able to
gnaw through the shell and eat the nuts.
Another very hard-shelled nut, the butter nut of the West
Indies, known locally as the Souari nut, was brought over
among the products of. Guiana at the Colonial and Indian
Exhibition, and when fresh is a most delicious nut, eating
like rich cream, but I suspect that it very frequently becomes
rancid when old, otherwise it would seem a fruit well suited
for exportation.
The cashew nut, also a product of the West Indies,
strongly resembles the walnut, and is much used in flavouring
various dishes. In India and the Philippine Islands it is
roasted in the husk and eaten with salt, and the husk itself
produces an indelible stain used in the manufacture of
marking ink, and also for burning warts and ulcers.
Our viands
1893Page 86
Presented as published in 1893. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
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When we journey into tropical regions we find a great
many very tough, but extremely valuable, nuts to crack,
and first and foremost is the cocoanut, which is the prin-
cipal food and wealth of the natives of the South Sea
Islands, the tree itself (Cocos miciferd] serving all the
multifarious uses of the household. It forms the timber of
the huts, the leaves are used for thatch, the fibre for mats
and ropes, the nuts for eating, the shells for drinking and
cooking utensils ; the milky juice in the nut forms a pleasant
drink, and in the East Indies, toddy and arrack are extracted
from the tree.
Latterly the cocoanut has become a favourite ingredient
for cakes, puddings, and biscuits, but it always appears
indigestible, probably because not used when quite fresh.
The oil extracted from the nut has also many uses, but it
quickly becomes rancid. Each cocoa palm yields about a
hundred nuts, and it may be readily understood that a grove
of these trees would be of extreme value in the tropical
countries which produce them. Two of these graceful
cocoa palms may be seen growing in the gardens of the
Due de Rochefoucault, at Cannes, but, like the other palms,
they do not thrive and bear fruit in Europe.
The Brazil nut, although well known as a fruit, is not so
much used in this country as the other nuts we have men-
tioned, and few people are aware that these triangular nuts
are the contents of a large outer shell of extreme hardness,
which forms a nut as large as a child's head, within which
the Brazil nuts of commerce are tightly packed, sometimes
to the number of fifteen to twenty or more. Humboldt
described this nut as one of the most extraordinary fruits of
South America. It grows on a tree 120 feet high, and at
i;6 OUR VIANDS
the time of ripening the natives dare not enter the woods
where they grow without a wooden buckler over the head,
lest they should be killed by the falling nuts. The monkeys
are said to unite to break the shell with stones, and the
Indians hold a feast at the ingathering, which they say is
the feast of animals as well as of men. The fall of the ripe
nut from so great a height is, it may be supposed, generally
sufficient to break it, otherwise it must be a very hard nut
to crack even for men ; but, besides the reputed breaking
by the Capuchin apes, the Cavia aguti is said to be able to
gnaw through the shell and eat the nuts.
Another very hard-shelled nut, the butter nut of the West
Indies, known locally as the Souari nut, was brought over
among the products of. Guiana at the Colonial and Indian
Exhibition, and when fresh is a most delicious nut, eating
like rich cream, but I suspect that it very frequently becomes
rancid when old, otherwise it would seem a fruit well suited
for exportation.
The cashew nut, also a product of the West Indies,
strongly resembles the walnut, and is much used in flavouring
various dishes. In India and the Philippine Islands it is
roasted in the husk and eaten with salt, and the husk itself
produces an indelible stain used in the manufacture of
marking ink, and also for burning warts and ulcers.