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Species
- Macadamia claudiensis
- Macadamia grandis
- Macadamia hildebrandii
- Macadamia integrifolia
- Macadamia jansenii
- Macadamia ternifolia
- Macadamia tetraphylla
- Macadamia whelanii
The trees are also grown as ornamental plants in subtropical regions for their glossy foliage and attractive flowers.
The Macadamia nut's kernel is extremely hard to mine out of its shell(it requires about 300psi to crack), but after some time in a warm and dry place the shell may develop big cracks. The nut can be opened then with a screwdriver, though the warm dry conditions also reduce the nutritional value of the nut. The shell is most easily cracked with a metalworking bench vice, but care must be taken not to crush the kernel
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Where do macadamia nuts come from?
The macadamia nut tree is an Australian native in the family Proteaceae, which also includes Protea, Banksia, Grevillea, Hakea and Dryandra. Australian aborigines have been eating this bush tucker tree for thousands of years and have given it many names including Kindal Kindal and Jindilli.
 The first recorded commercial nut farm was planted in the 1880's outside of Lismore, New South Wales. The Macadamia tree does not begin to produce commercial quantities of nuts until it is 7-10 years old, but once established, may continue bearing for over 100 years.
In the early 1900's a group of Americans, having enjoyed the nuts, decided to start macadamia nut growing on the islands of Hawaii. Hawaii is the largest producer of macadamia nuts in the world... for now!
The macadamia shell is a hard nut to crack and although you can purchase macadamia nut kernels it can be fun bashing the shells with a mallet or rock to get to the sweet, delicious nut inside.
Macadamia nuts are extremely nutritious and versatile. They can be eaten raw, roasted or used in cooking. The oil from the macadamia nut is even higher in monounsaturates than extra virgin olive oil and much tastier. It also has a higher smoke point which gives it a wide range of uses.
Favourite macadamia nut recipes include White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Macadamia Nuts and Macadamia Nut Cream Pie.
Macadamia Nut
From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Macadamia is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, with a disjunct distribution native to eastern Australia (seven species) and Indonesia (Sulawesi; one species, M. hildebrandii).
They are small to large evergreen trees growing to 6-40 m tall. The leaves are arranged in whorls of three to six, lanceolate to obovate or elliptical in shape, 6-30 cm long and 2-13 cm broad, with an entire or spiny-serrated margin. The flowers are produced in a long slender simple raceme 5-30 cm long, the individual flowers 10-15 mm long, white to pink or purple, with four tepals. The fruit is a very hard woody globose follicle with a pointed apex, containing one or two seeds.
The genus is named after John Macadam, who was a colleague of the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller who first described the genus. Common names include Macadamia, Macadamia nut, Queensland nut and Maroochi nut; Indigenous Australian names include Kindal Kindal and Jindilli.
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How to roast your nuts:
Shell nuts carefully and rinse well with hot water. Sprinkle salt (optional) over nuts and let drain for about 30 minutes. Spread nuts in a baking pan. Put pan in preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes ONLY. Reduce heat to 250 degrees F. Let nuts brown, turning them occasionally. Nuts are done when they are a golden brown in color. This should take about 35-45 minutes at the reduced heat. Remove from oven and LET COOL.
Macadamia nuts are toxic to dogs. Ingestion may result in Macadamia nut toxicosis, which is marked by weakness with the inability to stand within 12 hours of ingestion. Recovery is usually within 48 hours.
Macadamia oil is prized for containing approximately 22% of the Omega-7 palmitoleic acid[1], which makes it a botanical alternative to mink oil, which contains approx. 17%. This relatively high content of "cushiony" palmitoleic acid plus macadamia's high oxidative stability make it a desirable ingredient in cosmetics, especially skincare.
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