Nut Day

Mixed nuts. Piviso / Pixabay.com / 2016 / CC0 1.0

The 22nd of October is Nut Day.

Today, you get to celebrate nuts all day long! No, not the kinds of nuts they keep hiring where you work — rather, the nuts we eat!

The nut industry takes today to promote itself to consumers, to government officials, and to politicians:

“[an] opportunity to promote and celebrate the nut industry like never before! Thank you for helping us spread the word – from consumers, to government representatives, to elected officials – on how valuable the nut industry is for our economy and for our health” ^[1]National Nut Day 2020. Peanut & Tree Nut Processors Association. Accessed October 2021 at https://www.ptnpa.org/page/nutday2020

And it’s true. While culinarily we tend to focus on how delicious nuts can be, economically nut production is an important part of agriculture in many countries. In the United States, the production of nuts such as pecans, almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts is particularly important. ^[2]National Nut Day. United States Census Bureau. 22 October 2017. CB17-SFS.93. Accessed September 2019 at https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/2017/october/nut-day.html

The original intention of the day (see History below) was to ensure that those involved in the most fundamental levels of nut production — the growers and the pickers — receive a fair deal.

Sadly, nut allergies affect about 1.1% of the population in the United States. ^[3]”Peanut and/or TN allergy affects approximately 1.1% of the general population, or about 3 million Americans, representing a significant health concern”. — Sicherer SH, Muñoz-Furlong A, Burks AW, Sampson HA. Prevalence of peanut and tree nut allergy in the US determined by a random digit dial telephone survey. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1999 Apr;103(4):559-62. doi: 10.1016/s0091-6749(99)70224-1. PMID: 10200001. But for everyone else, nuts have always been understood to be very nutritious, with recent research pointing to them being even more nutritious and beneficial than we had imagined. Still, they can pack a caloric punch, so snack on them in moderation!

There are so many different ways to enjoy them in cooking: nuts as a garnish, nuts as an ingredient, nuts ground into a sauce or a flour, and of course, as always, nuts as a snack to eat out of hand.

Did your family ever buy nuts at Christmas to put out in a bowl for guests to snack on?

Do you own a nutcracker?

Have you ever had roasted chestnuts or fresh roasted peanuts from a street vendor?

Have you ever tried any nut butter other than peanut butter?

What are your favourite three kinds of nuts?

#NutDay #NationalNutDay

See also: Nuts, Nut flours, Nut Mill, Nut oils, Nutting Day, Devil’s Nutting Day, Nutcrack Night

Activities for today

• Bring some nuts into work for your coworkers to snack on;
• treat yourself to a dessert with nuts in it;
• try to make or buy a savoury dish with nuts in it;
• try a different kind of nut butter other than peanut butter;
• try to identify opportunities to buy FairTrade nuts.

Recipes

• Cabbage & Nut Pie Recipe
• Kunde Recipe
• Pork Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
• Ribs in Peanut Sauce Recipe

Resources

National Nut Day Toolkit

Ros, Emilio. “Health benefits of nut consumption.” Nutrients vol. 2,7 (2010): 652-82. doi:10.3390/nu2070652

Health Benefits of Nuts (BBC Goodfood)

Why The Omega-3s In Walnuts Are Not The Same As The Ones In Fish And Algae (Forbes Magazine)

History

The day was started in 2015 by Liberation Foods of Hackney, East London, England, to promote the nut trade, and particularly the “fair trade” nut business, in which they are engaged, and which strives to ensure a fair deal for the people who grow and pick the nuts. ^[4]”October 22nd Marks National Nut Day, a day created by Liberation to celebrate this wonderful ingredient that we are proud to share with you all.” National Nut Day. Liberation. Accessed October 2021 at https://chooseliberation.com/national-nut-day-2016/ ^[5]”Thank you to everyone that helped make National Nut Day last Thursday (22 October [2015]) such a huge success.” What a Cracking National Nut Day 2015. Liberation. October 2015. Accessed October 2021 at https://chooseliberation.com/national-nut-day-2015/

This was the short film created for the first year.

Sources

Berger, Sarah. National Nut Day 2015: Facts About The Health Benefits The Tasty Treat Provides. New York, NY: International Business Times. 21 October 2015. Accessed October 2021 at https://www.ibtimes.com/national-nut-day-2015-facts-about-health-benefits-tasty-treat-provides-2149454

Herman, Beth. Nuts About Nuts? Celebrate National Nut Day! Farmer’s Almanac. 4 February 2021. Accessed October 2021 at https://www.farmersalmanac.com/national-nut-day-19314

National Nut Day. United States Census Bureau. 22 October 2017. CB17-SFS.93. Accessed September 2019 at https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/2017/october/nut-day.html

National Nut Day 2020. Peanut & Tree Nut Processors Association. Accessed October 2021 at https://www.ptnpa.org/page/nutday2020