Biology:Baru seed
| Baru seed | |
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| Species: | D. alata
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| Binomial name | |
| Dipteryx alata | |
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The baru seed, also known as the baru nut, baru almond, or chiquitanian almond, and taxonomically classified as Dipteryx alata Vogel, is an undomesticated, primitive legume crop. It is a wild species, widespread across the Cerrado savanna in South America.[2] It is classified as a tertiary grain legume,[3] as its supply chain is still very limited. Atypically among legume crop plants, baru seeds develop from a tree, and are dispersed by animals, particularly birds, bats and rodents.[4]
Baru seeds are similar in taste to peanuts and are often served in similar ways in Western cuisines. The botanical definition of a "nut" is a fruit whose ovary wall becomes hard at maturity. Using this criterion, the baru seed is not a nut given its unique fruit. However, it was initially translated in English as "nut" due to the first internationally published articles translating the word "castanha" from Portuguese. This is a misnomer in itself, as it would be literally translated as "chestnut".
Nutritional Value
Baru seeds are highly nutritious[5] and rich in:
- Anti-oxidants, mainly tocopherols
- Protein
- Dietary fiber
- Omega-6
- Omega-3
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Phosphorus
- Zinc
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 2,238 kJ (535 kcal) |
13.6 g | |
| Sugars | 0.0 g |
| Dietary fiber | 9.2 g |
42 g | |
| Saturated | 7.6 g |
| Monounsaturated | 21.4 g |
| Polyunsaturated | 13.8 g |
29 g | |
| Vitamins | Quantity %DV† |
| Vitamin E | 143% 21.4 mg |
| Minerals | Quantity %DV† |
| Calcium | 11% 110 mg |
| Iron | 37% 4.8 mg |
| Magnesium | 46% 164 mg |
| Phosphorus | 119% 832 mg |
| Potassium | 21% 980 mg |
| Zinc | 48% 4.6 mg |
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| †Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. | |
Food
Baru butter
Baru butter is a food paste or spread made from ground dry roasted baru seeds, used as a peanut butter substitute. It can contain additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners or emulsifiers. Baru butter is served as a spread on bread, toast or crackers, and used to make sandwiches (notably as an alternative to the peanut butter and jelly sandwich). It is also used in a number of confections, such as peanut-flavored granola bars or croissants and other pastries.[citation needed]
Baru flour
Baru flour is made from crushed baru seeds. Culinary professionals use baru flour as a thickener for soups, a flavor and aromatic enhancer in breads, pastries and main dishes.[citation needed]
Dry-roasted baru seeds
Baru seeds can be roasted in a home oven if spread out one layer deep in a pan and baked at a temperature of 350 °F or 177 °C for 20 to 25 min.[citation needed]
Cuisine
Latin America
Baru seeds are used mostly as an occasional salted snack by local communities, due to the difficulty of extracting them manually. However, when in large enough quantities, they are used in rice, pesto sauce, sweets and chocolate.[citation needed]
North America
In Canada and the United States, baru seeds are used as a snack and ingredient, and are slowly being adopted as a peanut substitute. Individually, they are eaten dry-roasted with or without salt.[citation needed]
Health Concerns
Baru seeds should be served after heating either as boiling, baking or roasting, which deactivates a trypsin inhibitor enzyme.[6] The trypsin inhibitor, if not deactivated, will not allow for the high protein content in baru seeds to be digested.[citation needed]
Allergies
Baru seeds come from one of the earliest branches of legumes (called Dipterygeae), and did not evolve some characteristics of more derived, commonly consumed legumes.[7] This applies to proteins similar to allergenic ones present in peanuts, soybeans or peas, for example, bearing no risk of cross-reactivity.[citation needed] They are also unrelated to tree nuts.[8]
However, due to their early-stage processing chain, there is a possibility of cross-contamination with native nuts from Brazil such as cashew nuts and Brazil nuts if processed in a shared facility.[9]
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Baru seed. |
- ↑ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden. 2013. http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/ild-33413. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
- ↑ Tarazi, Roberto; Moreno, Maria Andréia; Gandara, Flávio Bertin; Ferraz, Elza Martins; Moraes, Mário Luiz Teixeira; Vinson, Christina Cleo; Ciampi, Ana Yamaguishi; Vencovsky, Roland et al. (29 January 2010). "High levels of genetic differentiation and selfing in the Brazilian cerrado fruit tree Dipteryx alata Vog. (Fabaceae)". Genetics and Molecular Biology 33 (1): 78–85. doi:10.1590/S1415-47572010005000007. PMID 21637609.
- ↑ "Grain Legumes". https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/V1-154.html.
- ↑ Tambarussi, Evandro Vagner; Sebbenn, Alexandre M.; Alves-Pereira, Alessandro; Vencovsky, Roland; Cambuim, Jose; Da Silva, Alexandre; Moraes, Marcela; De Moraes, Mario L.T. (15 September 2017). "Dipteryx alata Vogel (Fabaceae) a neotropical tree with high level of selfing: implication for conservation and breeding programs". Annals of Forest Research 0. doi:10.15287/afr.2017.842.
- ↑ Fernandes, Daniela C; Freitas, Jullyana B; Czeder, Ludmila P; Naves, Maria Margareth V (11 May 2010). "Nutritional composition and protein value of the baru (Dipteryx alata Vog.) almond from the Brazilian Savanna". Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 90 (10): 1650–1655. doi:10.1002/jsfa.3997. PMID 20564449.
- ↑ Siqueira, Egle Machado de Almeida; Marin, Alinne Martins Ferreira; da Cunha, Marcela de Sá Barreto; Fustinoni, Adriana Medeiros; de Sant'Ana, Lívia Pimentel; Arruda, Sandra Fernandes (January 2012). "Consumption of baru seeds [Dipteryx alata Vog.], a Brazilian savanna nut, prevents iron-induced oxidative stress in rats". Food Research International 45 (1): 427–433. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2011.11.005.
- ↑ Cardoso, D.; Pennington, R.T.; de Queiroz, L.P.; Boatwright, J.S.; Van Wyk, B.-E.; Wojciechowski, M.F.; Lavin, M. (November 2013). "Reconstructing the deep-branching relationships of the papilionoid legumes". South African Journal of Botany 89: 58–75. doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2013.05.001.
- ↑ Geiselhart, Sabine; Hoffmann-Sommergruber, Karin; Bublin, Merima (August 2018). "Tree nut allergens". Molecular Immunology 100: 71–81. doi:10.1016/j.molimm.2018.03.011. PMID 29680588.
- ↑ https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/food-safety/at-the-food-processor/food-safety-program/pubs/fs_7.pdf
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