The Macadamia Nut Story

 

For thousands of years before European settlement the aborigines ate the native nut that grew in rainforests of eastern Australia. One of these nuts was called gyndl or jindilli (Macadamia integrifolia), which was later borrowed as kindal kindal by early Europeans. In New South Wales, the southern species is known traditionally as boombera (Macadamia tetraphylla)

 

In the 1850's, the majestic beauty of these native evergreen rainforest trees captured the attention of Europeans and were named after prominent Australian scientist Dr John McAdam.

The first commercial orchard of macadamia trees was planted in the early 1880s by Charles Staff at Rous Mill, 12 km southeast of Lismore, New South Wales, consisting of M. tetraphylla. Besides the development of a small boutique industry in Australia during the late 19th and early 20th century, macadamia was extensively planted as a commercial crop in Hawaii from the 1920s. Macadamia seeds were first imported into Hawaii in 1882 by William H. Purvis.

The Hawaiian-produced macadamia established the nut internationally.

Outside of Hawaii and Australia, macadamia is also commercially produced in South Africa, Brazil, California, Costa Rica, Israel, Kenya, Bolivia, New Zealand, Colombia and Malawi.

Common names include Macadamia, Macadamia nut, Queensland nut, Bush nut, Maroochi nut, Queen of Nuts and bauple nut; Indigenous Australian names include gyndl, jindilli, and boombera.

Growing Macadamias and Harvesting

The macadamia tree is usually propagated by grafting, and 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.

Mature macadamia nut kernels are encased in hard woody shells surrounded by green-brown fibrous husks. In Australia the nuts fall to the ground between March and September each year and are harvested by pin wheel harvesters at regular intervals.

The macadamia nut has an extremely hard shell, but can be cracked using a blunt instrument, such as a hammer or rock applied with some force to the nut sitting in a concave surface, or a custom made macadamia nutcracker can be used.

 

Dehusking

The fibrous outer husk of the macadamia is removed within 24 hours of harvest to reduce heat respiration and facilitate drying. The husk material is usually recycled as organic mulch, and the ‘nut-in-shell’ (NIS) is generally sent to a commercial processor.

Drying  

Careful drying is a critical step in macadamia processing. At harvest the nuts have a moisture content of up to 30% and the kernel itself fills the entire shell. The drying process takes up to three weeks and during this time the moisture content falls to around 1.5% and the kernel shrinks away from the inside of the shell. This allows the shells to be cracked without damaging the kernel and maximises nut in shell storage life and quality.

Cracking

Although the macadamia is native to Australia, processing of macadamia nuts began slowly with early enthusiasts cracking the nuts by hand.

Kernel characteristics

Appearance_ kernels should be almost spherical without any obvious flatness or protuberances. The color should be clear white to creamy with little or no discoloration (grayness) at the apical end. This was assessed by a general observation of the sample and a brief description recorded. (Hobson 1976).

Quality_ fresh dried kernels should be odorless. The flavor should be delicate, mild and uniform, the texture crisp but tender. This was assessed by a tasting panel and was recorded by selecting the appropriate descriptive terms from the following:

Texture: Hard, tender, crisp, mealy, sloppy.

Flavor: Tasteless, bland, sweet, bitter, oily, mild, nutty.

Odor: odorless, slightly-, mildly-, highly aromatic.

 

Nutritional qualities

Macadamia Nut - raw
100 grams - about 40 nuts
720 calories

9.3% protein

7 - 9% carbohydrates

73 - 78% oil

55 mg. calcium

240 mg. phosphorus

2 mg. iron

1 mg. niacin

340 mcg. thiamin

93 mcg. riboflavin

 

Industry and utilization

Many consumers are unaware of the many and varied uses of the macadamia nut. Macadamia nuts can be used for:

  • Cocktail or snack nuts: salted, roasted, plain
  • Candies (chocolate, honey or caramel covered and brittle)
  • Spreads (macadamia nut butter)
  • Skin products e.g., macadamia nut scrub, suntan oil, cosmetics
  • Macadamia flavored coffee
  • Breads and confections (cakes, cookies)
  • Liqueurs and flavoring
  • Cooking ingredients, garnish
  • Cooking oil

 

About us

 

We can offer Macadamia Nut for different consumers and please contact us for more details:

 

Shanghai Leyan commerce Co Ltd

Address: N°2118, guanghua road, room C-1061, minhang, Shanghai

Tel: 021-54830800 18918661975

Site : www.leyanfood.com 

E-mail: sales1_leyan@leyanfood.com