Macadamia Nuts

“Ordered Macadamia nuts. Just came across your store while searching for a store online. Your Macadamia nuts arrived on time as was promised. The nuts were FANTASTIC - very fresh and of jumbo size. You have got a variety of other nuts and dry fruits that I for sure will order now. Thanks and keep up the great service. ”

— Jawad, New York, New York September 14, 2009

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Macadamia nuts represent one of the "newest" nut crops cultivated in the world. The Macadamia nut was first domesticated in 1858 in Australia. It is the only native Australian plant ever developed as a commercial food crop.

The macadamia is an evergreen tree of the family Proteaceaa. It is indigenous to the coastal, subtropical rain forests of southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales in eastern Australia. Before the nineteenth century, the nut was known only to aboriginal tribes, who since ancient times gathered the nuts each autumn, but in all probability did not cultivate the trees. Heaps of macadamia nut shells were found by the early white settlers in Australia who, depending on their territory, had several different common names for it such as: gyndl, kindal kindal, boombera and burrawang.

The edible macadamia nuts are produced by two species of the genus Macadamia: M. integrifolia, known as the smooth-shell type; and M. tetraphylla, commonly referred to as the rough-shell type. Both of the edible species of Macadamia may reach a height of sixty feet and a spread of some forty feet. Their glossy dark green leaves, which resemble holly, make beautiful wreaths.

The smooth shell type has leaves four to twelve inches long, which grow in whorls of three, and are usually free from spines; its flowers are creamy white in color. The leaves of the rough shell type measure from five to twenty inches long and have spines along their entire length. They are usually found in whorls of four. The flowers may be pink or creamy white in color.

The fruit consists of a fleshy husk which encloses a spherical seed one-half to one and one-quarter inches in diameter with a very hard, durable shell. Inside the shell is the macadamia nut, whose distinctive flavor has been compared to that of a superfine hazelnut.

Under favorable growing conditions, the macadamia tree begins to produce in six to seven years. It is a long lived tree which may have a productive life of sixty years or more. In full production, well grown mature trees produce sixty to one hundred fifty pounds or more annually of in shell nuts. The first commercial macadamia nuts orchard was established in Australia about 1888.

Hawaii was not introduced to the macadamia nut until 1882, by William Herbert Purvis. He obtained seeds from the Mt. Bauple region, north of Queensland and subsequently planted several seedling trees at Kukuihaele, on the island of Hawaii. Throughout the years, many more commercial farms were planted in Hawaii resulting in thousands of acres of trees producing Hawaiian macadamia nuts.

Hawaii is the largest producer in the world of macadamia nuts. The second largest producer is Australia with about 7,000 acres. However, every year about 1,000 more acres are being planted in Australia. Although demand exceeds supply, small quantities of Australian macadamia nuts are exported to Japan, England, and various European countries.

The Republic of South Africa follows with an estimated 6,000 acres; Kenya has about 4,000 acres; Guatemala has 2,000 acres; and Brazil round outs with about 1,800 acres. Other countries which have made experimental planting of macadamia include: New Zealand, Venezuela, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Peru, Indonesia, Tahiti, New Caledonia, EL Salvador, Jamaica, Paraguay, Columbia, Western Samoa, Thailand, Taiwan, Fiji, Israel, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.

In the continental United States, California is the only state that has been successful in growing macadamia on a scale approaching commercial. Gradual progress in macadamia development has been made in cooperation with the efforts of the California Macadamia Society which now has some 475 members worldwide, and about 325 members in state. To date however, there are no large scale, commercial macadamia orchards in California.

Success of the macadamia orchard depends to a large extent on selection of a suitable site. The tree thrives best without shade, in mild, frost-free, subtropical climates with at least fifty inches of well-distributed rainfall annually. Good drainage and protection from strong winds are most important.

When the mature macadamia nut reaches the processing plant, the outer husk is removed by husking machines. There are several commercially available types of equipment which mechanize this husking operation by employing friction as the removal agent. Then in-shell nuts are dehydrated in drying ovens to a moisture content of about 1.5 percent. Following dehydration, the nuts are cracked between stainless steel drums as the kernels are separated from the hard shell by a combination of sieving and air blasting. Kernels are then cleaned and sorted to remove damaged nuts and pieces of shell. They are graded into first quality, second quality, and inferior grades. First grade kernels are processed further for retail sale, while second grade and broken kernels are used for baking and confectionery purposes. First grade kernels are then eaten raw, roasted, or dipped in chocolate.

Bulk macadamia nuts are typically hard to buy still in the shell. That is because they are one of the hardest nuts to crack. Using a conventional nut cracker is near impossible. You will not only break the nut cracker, you will break your patience as well! There are only three ways in which one can reasonably crack a macadamia nut at home. You can use a hammer, a fitters or carpenters vice grip pliers, or a commercial grade nut cracker designed specifically for macadamia nuts. This extremely hard shell also plays a part in the high cost of macadamia nuts. It is extremely difficult to crack open the shell without breaking the nut inside. This also is why macadamia nuts found in the shell are anywhere from forty to eighty percent cheaper than shelled kernels.

Today, the macadamia is considered a gourmet delicacy, ranking with pine nuts as one of the most delicious and expensive nuts.

We also offer wholesale macadamia nuts.