From almonds and pecans to pistachios, cashews and macadamias, nuts are as basic as food gets – just pop them out of the shell and into your mouth. The original health food, the vitamin-packed nut is now used industrially in confectionery and in all sorts of cooking. The first book to tell the full story of how nuts came to be in almost everything, Nuts takes readers on a gastronomic, botanical and cultural tour of the world.

After tackling the surprisingly difficult problem of defining a nut – some foods we think of as nuts are actually seeds and some are fruits – award-winning food writer Ken Albala provides a fascinating account of how nuts have been cooked, prepared and exploited through history and around the world, from cultivation and harvesting to processing and consumption – or non-consumption, in the case of those with nut allergies. With scrumptious recipes, surprising facts and fascinating nuggets inside, this entertaining and informative book will delight lovers of almonds, hazelnuts, chestnuts and more.