It would work with things like nuts. We can buy, for example, whole cashews or cashew pieces. Pecans come whole or halved. Sesame seeds come whole or dehulled.
Hi,
Please note I'm not a teacher nor a native speaker,
I find it intriguing that most of the given examples are culinary related. I myself first thought of mushrooms, garlic cloves, onions, but couldn't came up with anything else; can anybody think out of the kitchen box ?