Food Profile - African Walnuts


African walnuts (botanical name - tetracarpidium conophorum) are fruits of a woody perennial climber plant, found mostly in the dense rain-forest of Africa. (some also found in India). Locally referred to as asala, ewusa/awusa (Yoruba) ekporo in the Efik dialect and ukpa in Igbo.

Description: The fruits come in a hard kernel casing which releases a whitish round nut when cracked open. The shell colour often black but can be any shade of gray.

The entire plant including leaves and roots have nutritional and medicinal properties, for which it is cultivate. The fruits (which are basically a type of nut) are the most commonly used part of the plant, significantly used for food and also to extract its oil which has a very high value especially in medicine and pharmaceutical.


Taste:
The fruit has a firm and crunchy texture with no overpowering flavours. But upon drinking water after consumption, one may experience an unusual bitter taste/sensation in the mouth. This is believed to be attributed to the presence of some variants of chemical alkaloids, tannins or phytochemicals. This however has no toxicity and of no danger to human consumption.

Nutritional Data based on 100g of shelled walnut kernels
Calories - 315kcal
Carbohydrates -13.14g
Protein - 24.01
Fats - 17.39
Fibre - 5.99
Vitamins: - C, E, B6, B7, thiamin, folate
Minerals: - Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Copper, Iron, Zinc, Sodium
Fatty Acids - Omega 3 & 6

Health Use/Benefits
There are so many claims about the health benefits of African walnuts, some of which have been scientifically proven. However, I am more drawn towards the impressive nutritional profile of the fruit especially the amount of essential fatty acids and anti-oxidants it possesses. For this reason, I am of the opinion that this fruit should feature regularly in my diet, and I am exploring ways of achieving this aim. In my opinion, it is a super fruit / super food... and we should be eating more of it.

How to Cook/Eat African Walnuts
I love walnuts and I generally eat them boiled as a snack, though they can also be roasted. My mum and her mum assure me that boiled walnuts are a good substitute for egusi and can be used to make a dish similar to egusi soup(...yet to try that out, but will share with you once I do...!). I am of the opinion that the fruits are too good and healthy to only eat as a snack. So I decided to create a couple of salad dishes with them, with really good outcome. Find an example here...

Boiling requires cooking the unshelled fruits in water for a while and draining off before serving. Similarly the unshelled fruits can be baked or roasted in an oven. To cook in soups, the partially boiled fruits are shelled, milled into a paste and cooked as usual using an egusi soup recipe. 



11 Comments

  1. Good day and thanks for the post. Please I would like to know how to roast walnuts. Do I boil first before roasting or just roastg the raw nut. Thanks again.

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    Replies
    1. Mrs Nnadi, I have not had a try roasting walnuts in an open wire. Baking them simply requires placing raw (not already cooked/boiled) walnuts on a tray and placing in an oven for a few minutes, about 15-20. I prefer the boiled ones though.....
      Hope this helps.

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  2. Yes it does. Thanks a lot. I will try making soup with it soon.

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  3. when i unshelled the wallnut its not white is that OK, please answer. thanks u.

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  4. We export walnut from Nigeria to all over the world. Contact www.mebofarms.com, 08060374414, whatsapp: +2348060374414

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    Replies
    1. Do you still do this business

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  5. 100g is about how many pieces of the walnut?

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  6. Replies
    1. That is an interesting idea... I shall be trying that out

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  7. How can you preserve your walnut ?

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    Replies
    1. Sun drying is the only method I have personally tried. Not sure it can be frozen....

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