They're instead members of the legume family, more akin to a 'pea' than a 'nut'! No one will be upset with you if you put them in a nut bowl or a bag of mixed nuts, though.
The same is true of cashews, which are technically 'drupes', even though we eat them and use them as though they are nuts. They belong to the category referred to as 'culinary nuts', which also includes pistachios, almonds, and surprisingly, walnuts and pecans as well.
Brazil nuts are yet a third type of non-nut, these large tasty 'nuts' are technically the seeds of a tree!
At this point you may be wondering, "well, what sort of nuts are actually nuts?!?" and the answer may surprise you. It's actually incredibly limited and the only true nuts you'll regularly encounter in daily life are
Deez nuts
