List of culinary nuts

• True, or botanical nuts: dry, hard-shelled, uncompartmented fruit that do not split on maturity to release seeds;
• Drupes: seed contained within a pit that itself is surrounded by a fleshy fruit ;
• Gymnosperm seeds: naked seeds, with no enclosure ;
• Angiosperm: seeds surrounded by an enclosure, such as a pod or a fruit.

True nuts

• Acorn, used from ancient times among indigenous peoples of the Americas as a staple food, in particular for making bread and porridge.
• Afghan hazelnut, a delicacy among the native peoples of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• Beech
• * American beech, used by indigenous peoples of the Americas as food. Several tribes sought stores of beech nuts gathered by chipmunks and deer mice, thus obtaining nuts that were already sorted and shelled.
• * European beech, although edible, have never been popular as a source of food. They have been used as animal feed and to extract a popular edible oil.
• Breadnut, used by the ancient Maya peoples as animal fodder, and as an alternative food when yield of other crops was insufficient.
• Candlenut, used in many South East Asian cuisines.
• Chestnuts
• * Chinese chestnuts, have been eaten in China since ancient times.
• * Sweet chestnuts, unlike most nuts, are high in starch and sugar. Extensively grown in Europe and the Himalayas.
• Guinea peanut, like those of the related Malabar chestnut, the seeds taste similar to peanuts and are typically boiled or roasted, with the roasted seeds sometimes ground to make a hot drink.
• Hazelnuts, most commercial varieties of which descend from the European hazelnut. Hazelnuts are used to make pralines, in the popular Nutella spread, in liqueurs, and in many other foods.
• * American hazelnut, appealing for breeding because of its relative hardiness.
• * Deeknut, grows in hot, excessively dry areas. An occasional garnish used in middle-eastern dishes.
• * Eastern and western beaked hazel, native to the United States.
• * European hazelnut, source of most commercial hazelnuts.
• * Filbert, commonly used as "filler" in mixed nut combinations.
• * Several other species are edible, but not commercially cultivated to any significant extent. These include the cold-tolerant Siberian hazelnut, C. kweichowensis, which grows in the warmer parts of China, C. sieboldiana, which grows in Japan and China, and other minor Corylus species.
• Johnstone River almond, prized food among northern Indigenous Australians.
• Karuka, native to Papua New Guinea. Both the planted and wild species are eaten raw, roasted or boiled, providing food security when other foods are less available.
• * Planted karuka, cultivated species, planted by roughly half the rural population of Papua New Guinea.
• * Wild karuka, important food source in villages at higher altitudes in New Guinea.
• Kola nut, from a West African relative of the cocoa tree, is the origin of the cola flavor in soft drinks.
• Kurrajong, native to Australia, highly regarded as a bush food among northern Indigenous Australians.
• Malabar chestnut, have a taste reminiscent of peanuts when raw, and of cashews or European chestnuts when roasted.
• Mongongo, abundant source of protein among Bushmen in the Kalahari desert. Also of interest as a source of oil for skin care.
• Palm nuts, important famine food among the Himba people in Africa.
• Red bopple nut, native to the east coast of Australia. Low in fat, high in calcium and potassium. Eaten as bush food. Considered similar, but inferior to the macadamia.
• Yellow walnut, native to Australia where it served as a staple food among Indigenous Australians.

  Drupe seeds

• Almonds have a long and important history of religious, social and cultural significance as a food. Speculated to have originated as a natural hybrid in Central Asia, almonds spread throughout the Middle East in ancient times and thence to Eurasia. The almond is one of only two nuts mentioned in the Bible.
• Apricot kernels are sometimes used as an almond substitute, an Apricot seed derived ersatz-Marzipan is known as "Persipan" in German and is extensively used in foods like Stollen.
• Australian cashew nut is a source of food for Indigenous Australians of north-eastern Queensland and Australia's Northern Territory.
• Betel or areca nuts are chewed in many cultures as a psychoactive drug. They are also used in Indian cuisine to make sweet after-dinner treats and breath-fresheners.
• Borneo tallow nuts are grown in the tropical rain forests of South East Asia, as a source of edible oil.
• Canarium spp.
• *Canarium nut has long been an important food source in Melanesia.
• * Chinese olive pits are processed before use as an ingredient in Chinese cooking.
• * Pili nuts are native to the Philippines, where they have been cultivated for food from ancient times.
• Cashews grow as a drupe that is attached to the cashew apple, the fruit of the cashew tree. Native to northeastern Brazil, the cashew was introduced to India and East Africa in the sixteenth century, where they remain a major commercial crop. The nut must be roasted to remove the caustic shell oil before being consumed.
• Chilean hazel, from an evergreen native to South America, similar in appearance and taste to the hazelnut.
• Coconut, used worldwide as a food. The fleshy part of the seed is edible, and used either desiccated or fresh as an ingredient in many foods. The pressed oil from the coconut is used in cooking as well.
• Gabon nut has a taste comparable to hazelnut or chestnut. It is eaten raw, grilled or boiled.
• Hickory
• * Mockernut hickory, named after the heavy hammer required to crack the heavy shell and remove the tasty nutmeat.
• * Pecans are the only major nut tree native to North America. Pecans are eaten as a snack food, and used as an ingredient in baking and other food preparation.
• * Shagbark hickory has over 130 named cultivars. They are a valuable source of food for wildlife, and were eaten by indigenous peoples of the Americas and settlers alike.
• * Shellbark hickory nuts are sweet, and are the largest of the hickories. They are also eaten by a wide variety of wildlife.
• Irvingia spp. are native to Africa
• * Bush mango has both edible fruit and an edible nut, which is used as a thickening agent in stews and soups in West African cuisines.
• * Ogbono nut is similar to the bush mango, but the fruit is not edible.
• Jack nuts are the seeds of the jack fruit. With a taste like chestnuts, they have an extremely low fat content of less than 1%.
• Jelly Palm Nut, sweet edible fruit, and edible nut.
• Bread Nuts similarly have a chesnut taste and very low fat content
• Panda oleosa is used in Gabon in a similar way to bush mango nuts, as well as to extract an edible oil.
• Pekea nut, or butter-nut of Guiana, harvested locally for its highly prized edible oil.
• Pistachio, cultivated for thousands of years, native to West Asia. It is one of only two nuts mentioned in the Bible.
• Walnut
• * Black walnut, also popular as food for wildlife, with an appealing, distinctive flavor. Native of North America.
• * Butternut is native to North America. Used extensively, in the past, by Native American tribes as food.
• * English walnut was introduced to California around 1770. California now represents 99% of US walnut growth. It is often combined with salads, vegetables, fruits or desserts because of its distinctive taste.
• * Heartnut, or Japanese walnut, native to Japan, with a characteristic cordate shape. Heartnuts are often toasted or baked, and can be used as a substitute for English walnuts.

  Nut-like gymnosperm seeds

• Cycads
• * Burrawang nut, a major source of starch for Indigenous Australians around Sydney.
• Ginkgo nuts are a common ingredient in Chinese cooking. They are starchy, low in fat, protein and calories, but high in vitamin C.
• Araucaria spp.
• * Bunya nut is native to Queensland, Australia. Nuts are the size of walnuts, and rich in starch.
• * Monkey-puzzle nut has nuts twice the size of almonds. Rich in starch. Roasted, boiled, eaten raw, or fermented in Chile and Argentina.
• * Paraná pine nut is an edible seed similar to pine nuts.
• Pine nuts Pine nuts can be toasted and added to salads and are used as an ingredient in pesto, among other regional uses.
• * Chilgoza pine, common in Central Asia. Nuts are used raw, roasted or in confectionery products.
• * Colorado pinyon, in great demand as an edible nut, with average annual production of 454 to 900 tonnes.
• * Korean pine, a pine-nut yielding species native to Asia.
• * Mexican pinyon, found in Mexico and Arizona. Nuts are eaten raw, roasted, or made into flour.
• * Single-leaf pinyon grows in foothills from Mexico to Idaho. Eaten as other pine nuts. Also sometimes ground and made into pancakes.
• * Stone pine, or pignolia nut is the most commercially important pine nut.

  Nut-like angiosperm seeds

• Brazil nuts are harvested from an estimated 250,000-400,000 trees per year. Highly valued edible nut used in the confectionery and baking trades. Excellent dietary source of selenium.
• Macadamia are primarily produced in Hawaii and Australia. Both species are native to Australia. They are a highly valued edible nut. Waste nuts are commonly used to extract an edible oil.
• * Macadamia nut has a rough shell, and is the subject of some commercialization.
• * Queensland macadamia nut has a smooth shell, and is the principal commercial macadamia nut.
• Paradise nut, native to the Amazon rain forest, highly regarded by indigenous tribal people.
• Peanut, or groundnut, originally from South America, has grown from a relatively minor crop to one of the most important commercial nut crops, in part due to the work of George Washington Carver at the beginning of the 20th century.
• Peanut tree or bush peanut, native to Australia. One of the tastiest native nuts. Requires no preparation.
• Soybeans are used as a nut, in addition to their use as oil seeds.