Here We Go Gathering Nuts Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sweet Chestnut

Castanea sative (Sweet Chestnut) is found throughout Europe and Asian Minor., and produces and edible seed, used for cooking. The Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) is native to the Balkans - but found elsewhere - is better known as the conker tree, but is actually poisonous.

Answer: Kentish Cobnut

The Kent (or Kentish) Cobnut is a species of hazelnut cultivated in Kent. Hazelnuts were a popular food source, even being found in prehistoric sites.
Cobnuts are distinguishable for hazelnuts, being slightly more elongated.
Hazelnuts are also known as filberts.

Answer: Making chocolate

Almonds have a wide range of culinary uses, including making a milk substitute, and almond butter - similar to peanut butter - syrup, oil and even flour.

Traditionally cultivated in Middle East - from the Mediterranean Sea to as far as Pakistan - almonds are also grown in such places as California, and southern Europe.

The almond is part of the Prunus family that also includes peaches, and is really a drupe, rather than a true nut because the outer hull has to be removed to get to the seed which itself is in a hard shell

Answer: Brazil nuts actually come from Canada

Surprisingly the Brazil nut contains traces of Radium. Its oil has been used to lubricate clocks as well as used in cosmetics. Proteins from the Brazil nut can get into sperm. These proteins can then be sexually transmitted to women suffering nut allergies.

Answer: No

Walnuts were originally native to central Asia, parts of China and the Indian sub-continent. It was not until Alexander the Great introduce them, did walnuts begin to spread through Europe, being spread further by the Romans.

Answer: Australia

Macadamia nuts are native to Australia, though cultivation has now spread to other parts of the world, notably Hawaii. Only three of the species of Macadamia nut can be eaten, even then only two of those species can be eaten raw. Although they are produced elsewhere - such as South Africa, California, Israel, Brazil and Columbia - Australia it still the largest exporter of Macadamia nuts.

Answer: Iran

Iran is the largest producer of Pistachio nuts, with an output nearly that of the next 10 ten countries that produce the nut combined, and nearly double that of what is produced in America.

Planted in orchards, the trees, which bear Pistachio nuts, have a cycle that sees them produce a big crop every other year, with peak production occurring after 20 years. Technically pistachios are drupes, rather than true nuts.

Answer: Yes

Although bitter tasting, Beechnuts are edible and can be processed into oil. Even the leaves are said to be edible. However, Beech is more commonly used for timber, especially the European beech (Fagus sylvatica). Beech trees are native throughout Europe, Asia and North America in more temperate areas.

Answer: Legumes

Peanuts are legumes (or beans), and are believed to have first been cultivated in Paraguay. Growing on an annual herbaceous plant, the "nut" itself develops in pods underground.

Answer: Topic

Advertised in the UK in 1962, the advert for Topic asked, "What has a hazelnut in every bite?" Topics are a kind of chocolate bar with nougat, hazelnuts and caramel.

Another bar of popular chocolate bar was Cadbury's Whole Nut, which also contained hazelnuts, with an advertising slogan of "Nut's whole hazelnuts. Cadbury's take them and they cover them in chocolate.

Those of a certain age in the UK will remember these adverts well.