GROUND NUTS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 15, Issue 374, 23 August 1946, Page 8

GROUND NUTS

(Written for "The Listener" by DR.

MURIEL

BELL

Nutritionist to the Health Department)

N the radio news sessions during the past few months there have been references to ground nuts. I wondered how many would have a vision of something like ground almonds, or whether everyone knew that the product alluded to was the humble peanut or monkeynut. We heard that one reason for the present shortage of fats was the failure of the ground nut crop, which demonstrates that one of the prime reasons for growing peanuts is to supply peanut or arachis oil; there is also a subsidiary purpose, that of providing roasted peanuts for the young. A. strange plant this, in which, after fertilisation of the ovules, the pods. are » forced underground by the downward growth of the fruit stalk. It belongs to the pea family or Leguminosae, consistent with which we shall find that it has nutritional qualities characteristic of this family, but contrary to which we think of it not as a legume but as a nut. In food constituents it compares with soya beans; but though the latter are used by millions as a staple food, peanuts are only infrequently used as an important food for human beings. It is as a fodder for animals. that thé. press-cake, obtained after extraction of the oil, is generally used, though it is also used for human food in some countries, notably Spain. Bewate of Accidents Like the soya bean, the peanut is rich in proteins and in oil, but contains comparatively little starch; and furthermore, the soya bean and the peanut are both rich in vitamins of the B group and in minerals. In both cases, the proteins

have the power of supporting growth,

justifying the esteem in which peanut meal, obtained after expressing the oil, is held as a valuable concentrate for farm animals. We might add that these proteins also justify the young human being in his passion for monkey-nuts-though please be warned, parents, that nasty accidents can happen with pea-nuts-they can be inhaled into the lung if they are being eaten while the child is playing games or talking; and such accidents have been known to contribute to our mortality statistics. The oil can be hardened by commercial processes and made into margarine or into vegetable fat to be used as shortening for cakes. In the United Kingdom even in 1937, no less than 118 million pounds of peanut oil were used for this purpose. In the Orient, oils such as soya bean, sunflower, sesame and other seed oils, are commonly used without any pretreatment. The Southern Europeans also use liquid fats rather than the plastic fats; and a great many differences in culinary practice depend on this fact. To some people, raw peanuts are indigestible. The large amount of oil they contain envelops the protein and starch, preventing it from being digested by those who have difficulty in digesting fats. Then too, the protein and the starch are more easily digested when the nut is roasted, However, a large part of the vitamin Bl is destroyed, during the roasting process. Those who enjoy raw peanuts can feel happy about the vitamin Bl they are getting; but those who prefer them roasted or in the form of peanut butter will rejoice that they are probably making better use of the protein they are consuming.