Macadamia Nuts

Macadamia nut is a flowering plants belongs to family Proteaceae and has 8 spices. It is native to eastern Australia and Indonesia Sulawesi. They are evergreen trees who’s size varies from 6-10meter in length. They leaves are obovate or elliptical in shape and 6-30 centimeter in length and 2-13 centimeter broad having spiny-serrated margin. The flowers are long slender 5-30 centimeter long having white, pink or purple four tepals. The flower is very hard woody globose follicle having pointed apex holding one or two seeds. The Macadamia nut tree use to produce commercial nuts when 7-10 years old, but once get mature it continue to bear for over 100 years. Growing macadamia nuts need rainfall upto 1000-2000 mm, and tempertaure not falling below 10°C to an optimum temperature of 25°C. This tree produces 40,000 tonnes of nut in shell per year.

The name macadamia is after the name of a botanist, Johm Macadam, who first decribe its genus. Macadamia nut has other common names as Queensland nut, Bush nut, Maroochi nut and Bauple nut; Indigenous Australian names include Kindal Kindal and Jindilli. Only two species of macadamia are edilbe while other are poisonous in nature. The two edible spcies are M. whelanii and M. ternifolia. The poisonous species hold cyanogenic glycosides which is toxic and make the nuts inedible. Macadamia nut kernel is extremely hard to mine out, macadamia nut cracker requires 300 psi to 2000 kPa to crack. Cracking macadamia nuts become easy in warm and dry place but this warm conditions mat reduce the nutritional values of the nut. The nuts can be easly cracked by locating the seam line on the shell. Macadamia nut farm needs extra care as their roots often fall in a common disease of Phytophthora. Macadamia nut farms are extensively farmed in Australia and Hawaii since 1900s. Mauna Loa macadamia Nuts Company is situated in the Hawaii. It has a factory which are producing the macadamia nuts commercially and exporting it through out the world.

Macadamia nut recipes involve extensive use of these nuts in cookery. Following are some of it recipes:

1. Chocolate covered macadamia nuts: Macadamia nuts are covered with dark balck chocolate commercially marketed as chocolate nut candy.

2. Macadamia nut pie recipe: Macadamia nut pie is a best alternate pecan pie, very buttery and creamy. The recipe holds ingredients as dark corn syrup, white sugar, eggs, lightly beaten, macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped, butter, melted, and unbaked pie shell.
3. White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies: go home and prepare this recipe which has been a hit at any church gathering. It holds ingredients as butter, softened, light brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, coarsely chopped macadamia nuts, and coarsely chopped white chocolate.
4. Fruit & Nut Chocolate Wedges: a recipe holding three things together fruits, chocolates and macadamia nuts. The ingredients involved are cooking chocolate, chopped glace ginger, chopped glace cherries, Sweetened Condensed Milk, and toasted and chopped Macadamia Nuts.
Macadamia Nuts Nutrition

Macadamia nut facts show that they are high in cholesterol, but do holds many essential nutrients as proteins, zinc, and magnesium. It is high in oleic acid which helps in cutting the cholesterol. Macadamia nuts do not contains any side effect and are very friendly with human body.