Difference Between Nuts and Beans

Nuts vs Beans

People easily get confused with the terms nuts, beans, legumes and seeds. Although all of these have their own set of similarities there are still some intriguing differences seen most especially with the first two. Without a doubt, nuts and beans are two foods that are rich in protein; thus these are two of the best foods that can be added to one’s weight loss diet regimen. Another similarity shared by both is that these are found inside a shell or pod. However, the thing is that people only realize the superficial differences of nuts and beans. They don’t know that much about the true disparities can be seen upon closer inspection.

One of the subtle differences between the two is that a nut is considered as a fruit. In Botany, many speak of the nut as one of the most common dry fruits having one seed, in some cases two. When it matures, the nut hardens even more but its seed is still not attached to its ovary wall. Upon complete maturity, nuts typically don’t open up. The best examples of nuts are almonds, pecans, chestnuts and walnuts among many others.

On the contrary, a bean is classified as a seed. Actually, bean is the term used to describe the seeds belonging to the legume or Fabaceae family. Thus, beans are the seeds of bean plants or the young pods of the same plants. When picked, beans are observed to be much softer than nuts although they can be subjected to a drying process to harden them up. Some of the most common beans are the black beans and butter beans.

Nuts and beans also differ in their seed number. Nuts usually have only one seed although they can have two as mentioned earlier. In the case of beans, there can be multiple seeds. By the word multiple, this means that beans can have as many as half a dozen bean seeds in one pod. Lastly, true nut seeds are not connected or stuck to the ovary wall. This is a clear difference since beans have their seeds attached to the pod walls.

Summary

1. A nut is a fruit while a bean is more of a seed.
2. A nut has one to two seeds while beans can have as many as half a dozen seeds.
3. A nut is much harder than beans both inside and out.
4. A nut’s seed isn’t attached to the ovary wall unlike the bean seed that is attached.

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