Monkey nuts were one of my favourite snacks as a child but walnuts only ever made an appearance at Christmas in the bowl of mixed nuts on the table. I remember that they were the easiest nut to crack! But what a mess they made, tiny bits of shell flying all over the sparkling white tablecloth. Actually, walnuts aren't nuts, they're drupes. Drupes are fleshy fruits where the fruit surrounds a shell with a seed inside but unlike other drupes like cherries and peaches for example, we eat the seed of the walnut fruit instead of the flesh itself.
