· Believed to be the oldest tree food known to man, walnuts date back to about 7()00 B.C., in Persia. The Franciscan missionaries brought walnuts to the West from Spain or Mexico, but the first commercial planting was in California in 1867. Today, walnuts are grown throughout the Central Valley from Redding to Bakersfield. California produces 98 percent of the total U.S. crop and a third of the world's commercial crop.
·Walnuts are prized for their versatility. Sprinkle them over pasta with gorgonzola sauce, toss warm roasted walnuts into a spinach salad, or use the nuts in a wide variety of baked goods.
· Walnuts have 182 calories and 18 grams fat per ounce-89 percent of calories from fat.
Deamer 12/7/96