The round, hard-shelled nut or the edible seed of the Australian tree Macadamia ternifolia, now cultivated in Hawaii.
[New Latin Macadamia, genus name, after John Macadam (1827–1865), Scottish-born Australian chemist.]
Dictionary:
mac·a·da·mi·a nut (măk'ə-dā'mē-ə) ![]() |
The round, hard-shelled nut or the edible seed of the Australian tree Macadamia ternifolia, now cultivated in Hawaii.
[New Latin Macadamia, genus name, after John Macadam (1827–1865), Scottish-born Australian chemist.]
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Background
In the world of nuts and berries, macadamia nuts are almost as precious as gold. These delicious, exotic nuts with their rich flavor and oil are considered delicacies and are served as dessert nuts. They are popular gifts at holiday times, both alone and when covered with chocolate. They are prized as souvenirs from Hawaii, and, thanks to Mrs. Fields' cookies, macadamia and chocolate chip cookies have brightened many afternoons at the local mall.
Macadamia nuts are associated in the minds of most Americans with Hawaii. Macadamias are a commercial crop in Hawaii, but they originated in northeastern Australia in the rain forests along the coast. The tree is from the family Protaceae and is one of about 10 species of which two grow best as commercially productive plants. The Macadamia integrefolia produces nuts with smooth shells, and the Macadamia tetraphylla has rough-shelled nuts.
Macadamia trees produce throughout their lives but they are slow growing. The demand for the rich nuts has outstripped growers' ability to produce them. Consequently, growers in many other countries including New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Malawi, South Africa, Kenya, Israel, Guatemala, Brazil, Mexico, and Costa Rica have begun planting large orchards. In the United States, California and Florida boast macadamia crops, along with Hawaii.
History
The macadamia nut was discovered by British colonists in Queensland, Australia, in 1857. Walter Hill, who was the Director of the Botany Garden in Brisbane, found one of the nuts, cracked it open using a vise, and planted the seed. This "first" macadamia nut tree is still growing and producing nuts, although typically the trees only produce for about 70 years.
Hill had been traveling on a botanical expedition with Baron Ferdinand von Mueller, who is considered the father of Australian botany and who held the post of Royal Botanist in Melbourne at the time. He is credited with naming the tree after Scotsman John Macadam, a friend, physician, and member of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria. Mr. Macadam never tasted the nut that bears his name after a shipboard injury caused his premature death en route to New Zealand.
Of course, the trees had long been known to the native Australian aborigines who called the macadamia trees kindal kindal and who feasted on the nuts in winter. The colonists took the tree to their hearts and began to learn to propagate it. The first known macadamia orchard consisted of 250 trees planted in 1890 on the Frederickson Estate in New South Wales, Australia. The tree was heavily cultivated and hybrids were grown from seeds and, more often, by grafting. Australia remains one of the world's major producers.
The macadamia migrated to Hawaii courtesy of William Herbert Purvis who gathered macadamia nuts near Mount Bauple in Queensland, Australia, and brought them to Hawaii's Big Island in 1882. He nurtured the imported nuts and planted them as seedlings in Kukuihaele, Hawaii. One of Purvis's original seedlings is also still growing and producing nuts.
Today, Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation is the largest manufacturer of macadamia nuts in the world. The firm's plantation was founded in 1948, the trees began to bear fruit in 1954, and the first commercial crop was harvested and processed in 1956. Over 10,000 acres of rich, volcanic soil host Mauna Loa's orchards. The single largest planting is not in Hawaii but on 3,700 acres in South Africa. The hybrid grown in New Zealand produces the most expensive macadamia nuts in the world; the Beaumont sp. does not drop its macadamias, so they are expensive to harvest and are also among the finest in flavor.
Raw Materials
The raw materials needed for commercial production of macadamia nuts are the nuts themselves, as well as salt and oil.
Design
Macadamia nuts are sold in jars and cans for home consumption. These nuts have been roasted in oil in the factory and salted. Unsalted nuts are also packed for commercial use, primarily by bakeries. The flavor of the nuts is well suited for use in many kinds of desserts. Design can become elaborate if the nuts are used in candies, cookies, and other products. A wide variety of desserts, souvenirs of the islands, and other treats containing macadamias are available on the market; some are byproducts of the macadamia nut processors, but, more often, other firms use the nuts as ingredients in their own product lines.
The Manufacturing
Process
Cultivation
In the factory
The lower moisture helps later in processing in separating the kernel from the shell. Macadamia nuts have the hardest shells to crack (although they are followed closely by the Brazil nut). The process of cracking the nuts also makes them rare and expensive. The hulls are too hard and smooth to be cracked by standard nutcrackers, rocks, or hammers. (In Hawaii, those who can collect the nuts from trees in their own neighborhoods often resort to driving cars over them.) In the factory, harvesting is complicated by the ever-bearing nature of the trees. Their nuts mature throughout the year (i.e., not seasonally), so the process of gathering and hulling the nuts is continuous and expensive.
Quality Control
The cultivation and processing of macadamia nuts are persnickety by definition. Their unusual growing characteristics and their devilishly hard shells need careful attention. Quality control is essential in the orchard to produce nut clusters and collect them in a timely manner (and as cost effective as possible). During processing, machines are essential to remove both the husks and the hard shells, but observation is provided throughout by quality inspectors and by computer-controlled optical devices.
Byproducts/Waste
Kernels are also ground and processed to produce macadamia nut oil as a byproduct. Bad kernels are not wasted and are often used as animal feed. The shells and other waste comprise almost 70% by weight of the macadamia nuts, and they also are collected for other uses. The countries and regions that produce macadamias also usually grow coffee, and shells can be burned as a wood substitute in coffee roasting. The husks are ground to produce organic waste for gardening, for mulch in the nut tree orchards, and for chicken litter that, after use, returns to the orchard for use as fertilizer.
The Future
Macadamia nuts are an excellent source of iron, calcium, vitamin B, and phosphorus. Although they contain 73-80% fat, the fat is monosaturated or "good" and as acceptable as olive oil in many diets. Although macadamias have many healthful properties, their unusually rich flavor, crunch, and comingling with chocolate in a bounty of forms make them favorites among gourmets and snackers alike. Good taste is always in style, so the future of the macadamia nut is promising indeed.
Where to Learn More
Books
Thomson, Paul H. "Macadamia." In Nut Tree Culture in North America. Richard A Jaynes, ed. Hamden, Connecticut: The Northern Nut Growers Association, Inc. 1979, pp. 188-202.
Periodicals
Sokolov, Raymond "Tough Nuts: Despite Some Superficial Similarities, Brazil Nuts And Macadamia Nuts Present A Study In Contrasts." Natural History (March 1985): 78.
Other
California Macadamia Nut Society. http://users.aol.com/TecterJS/themac.html/.
Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company. http://206.127.252.21/hawnnut/.
Macadamia Miravalles S.A., Costa Rica. http://macadamia.co.cr/.
MacNut Farms & Café. http://macnut.co.nz/.
Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation. http://www.maunaloa.com/.
[Article by: Gillian S. Holmes]
| Sci-Tech Encyclopedia: Macadamia nut |
The fruit of a tropical evergreen tree, Macadamia ternifolia, native to Queensland and New South Wales and now grown commercially in Australia and Hawaii. The trees bear many small white or pinkish flowers in drooping racemes, each of which may mature from 1 to 20 fruits. These consist of a leathery outer husk (pericarp) which splits along one side at maturity, freeing the very hard-shelled, nearly round seed or nut. Two types of nuts are recognized, the most important commercially having a smooth shell and the other having a rough shell and sometimes referred to another species, M. integrifolia.
| Food and Nutrition: macadamia nut |
| Food Lover's Companion: macadamia nut |
[mak-uh-DAY-mee-uh] As hard as it is to believe, the macadamia tree was first grown only for ornamental purposes. Thankfully, the buttery-rich, slightly sweet nature of the tree's nut was eventually discovered and has been prized ever since. The macadamia tree is native to Australia and was named for John McAdam, the Scottish-born chemist who cultivated it. In the 1890s the macadamia journeyed from Tasmania to be cultivated in Hawaii (now its largest exporter) and, eventually, California. Because of its extremely hard shell, this marble-size, golden brown nut is usually sold shelled, either roasted or raw. It has a high fat content and should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer to prevent rancidity. Macadamias are widely used in a variety of sweet and savory dishes. See also nuts.
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: macadamia |
For more information on macadamia, visit Britannica.com.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: macadamia |
| Veterinary Dictionary: Macadamia |
Australian genus of trees in the family Proteaceae; grown commercially for their fruits (Macadamia, Australian bush or Bopple Nut). The leaves and seeds contain cyanogenetic glycosides and are a potential cause of cyanide poisoning. Includes M. integrifolia, M. ternifolia, M. tetraphylla, M. whelanii.
| Nutritional Values: The Nutritional Value for: macadamia nuts, oil roasted, unsalted |
| Quantity | Energy (calories) |
Carbohydrates (grams) |
Protein (grams) |
Cholesterol (milligrams) |
Weight (grams) |
Fat (grams) |
Saturated Fat (grams) |
| 1 oz | 205 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 28.35 | 22 | 3.2 |
| Wikipedia: Macadamia |
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Macadamia integrifolia foliage and nuts
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Macadamia claudiensis |
Macadamia is a genus of nine species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, with a disjunct distribution native to eastern Australia (seven species), New Caledonia (one species M. neurophylla) and Sulawesi in Indonesia (one species, M. hildebrandii).
They are small to large evergreen trees growing to 2–12 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, a colleague of botanist Ferdinand von Mueller, who first described the genus.[1] 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.
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The nuts are a valuable food crop. Only two of the species, Macadamia integrifolia and Macadamia tetraphylla, are of commercial importance. The remainder of the genus possess poisonous and/or inedible nuts, such as M. whelanii and M. ternifolia; the toxicity is due to the presence of cyanogenic glycosides. These glycosides can be removed by prolonged leaching, a practice carried out by some Indigenous Australian people in order to use these species as well.
The two species of edible macadamia readily hybridise, and M. tetraphylla is threatened in the wild due to this. Wild nut trees were originally found at Mount Bauple near Maryborough in southeast Queensland, Australia. Locals in this area still refer to them as "Bauple nuts". The macadamia nut is the only plant food native to Australia that is produced and exported in any significant quantity.[citation needed]
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.[2] 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 young manager of the Pacific Sugar Mill at Kukuihaele on the Big Island, planted seed nuts that year at Kapulena.[3]
The Hawaiian-produced macadamia established the nut internationally. However, in 2006, macadamia production began to fall in Hawaii, due to lower prices from an over-supply.[4]
Outside of Hawaii and Australia, macadamia is also commercially produced in South Africa, Brazil, California, Costa Rica, Israel, Kenya, Bolivia, New Zealand and Malawi. Australia is now the world's largest commercial producer - at approximately 40,000 tonnes of nut in shell per year, with a total global production of 100,000 tonnes.
Macadamias are highly nutritious nuts. They have the highest amount of beneficial monounsaturated fats of any known nut. They also contain 9% protein, 9% carbohydrate, 2% dietary fiber, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, selenium, iron, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin. [5]
Macadamia oil is prized for containing approximately 22% of the Omega-7 palmitoleic acid,[6] which makes it a botanical alternative to mink oil, which contains approximately 17%. This relatively high content of "cushiony" palmitoleic acid plus macadamia's high oxidative stability make it a desirable ingredient in cosmetics, especially skincare.
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. Macadamias prefer fertile, well-drained soils, a rainfall of 1,000–2,000 mm, and temperatures not falling below 10 °C (although once established they can withstand light frosts), with an optimum temperature of 25 °C. The roots are shallow and trees can be blown down in storms; they are also susceptible to Phytophthora root disease.
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. Nuts of the "Arkin Papershell" variety crack open more readily.
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| Translations: Macadamia |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - macademia, australsk træ
Nederlands (Dutch)
bepaalde Australische boom die noten draagt
Français (French)
n. - noix de Macadamia
Deutsch (German)
n. - (Bot.) Macadamia (australische Baumart)
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (φυτολ.) μακανταμία
Italiano (Italian)
pianta australiana del genere macadamia
Português (Portuguese)
n. - macadâmia (f) (variedade de nogueira)
Русский (Russian)
вечнозеленое дерево в Австралии
Español (Spanish)
n. - tipo de nuez comestible
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - macadamia
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
澳洲坚果树
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 澳洲堅果樹
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - マカダミア属, マカダミアナッツ, マカダミア
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) حصمه, حجر صغير
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - מקדמיה (אגוז)
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| Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation | |
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