Macadamia Nuts

The first macadamia trees grew in Australia, and the first people to eat them were Australian aborigines. Macadamias were cultivated as a food crop beginning in 1858, a century after the British colonized the continent. Two different kinds of evergreen trees produce edible macadamia nuts. The trees grow up to 60 feet tall and begin producing nuts in quantity when they're about ten years old. The edible part of the macadamia grows inside an extremely hard shell that's surrounded by a soft outer husk, about the size of a walnut shell. During processing, macadamias are hulled, then dried, and the hard shells are mechanically cracked. The nuts are graded: Whole macadamias command premium prices, and those that break during shelling are used as ingredients for baking. The macadamia nut was named after Dr. John Macadam, a native of Scotland, who became a speaker of some renown in 19th century Australia. Macadamia Oil is cholesterol free, and is the highest source of monounsaturated fats known to man, more concentrated even than extra virgin olive oil.