  Nuclei can be described satisfactorily in a nonlinear chiral SU(3)-framework,
even with standard potentials of the linear $\sigma$-model. The condensate
value of the strange scalar meson is found to be important for the properties
of nuclei even without adding hyperons. By neglecting terms which couple the
strange to the nonstrange condensate one can reduce the model to a Walecka
model structure embedded in SU(3). We discuss inherent problems with chiral
SU(3) models regarding hyperon optical potentials.
