Macadamia 101 Seeds to Nuts Process

Macadamia 101

Seeds to Nuts

Our mission is to offer the highest quality product while working in harmony with the environment. Both the farm and processing plant are operated using a system of environmentally friendly practices.

Macadamia trees are beautiful and were originally grown for their ornamental value. They grow slowly and live for 50 years or more, spreading majestically from heights of 40 and 50 feet. They have shiny green holly-like leaves and bear sprays of long, delicate, sweet-smelling white blossoms. Each spray of 40 or 50 flowers produces from four to eight 'nutlets', which will eventually ripen into nuts. The nuts themselves grow encased in a very hard, woody shell, which is protected by a thick fibrous green husk, not unlike the husk of a chestnut. In its natural state, a tree will have flowers, nutlets and fully mature nuts growing simultaneously in riotous profusion all year round. Although, the commercial growers have succeeded in shortening the harvest period to four or five months a year.

Today macadamia nuts remain by far the costliest nut in the world to produce. Once the grafting process has taken place, the trees have to be carefully planted in an orchard. They begin to bear in 5 years. It takes 8 years in all for a tree to reach full production. The mature nuts fall to the ground and must be hand harvested from early July through November.

Once gathered, the nuts have to be dehusked, then dried and cured to reduce the moisture so the kernel can be separated, undamaged, from the woody shell. It takes 330 pounds per square inch of pressure to break a macadamia nut's shell. In precommercial days, the nuts were put between wooden boards and automobiles were driven over the top to crack them. One modern method is to pass the nuts between counter-rotating steel rollers, precisely spaced to crack the shell without disturbing the kernel.

It will be a long time before macadamia nut supply catches up to world demand. It is also possible that with more people every year tasting the marvelous nut for the first time, it never will.

Macadamia nuts are rich in monounsaturated oils, even better than olive oils. Monounsaturated oils lower cholesterol, help prevent heart attacks and reduce the occurrence of breast cancer.

Macadamia nut oil is becoming an increasingly popular oil for use in fine cuisine and healthy diets.