Rows of Macadamia Nut trees like these thrive on Mac's Nut Company's Pohoiki Farm.
As the Mac Nuts ripen, new blooms emerge for a future harvest.
In-Shell Macadamia Nuts have been sorted, washed and 'Husked'. They will now cure for a few weeks in our open air bins until they reach the desired dryness.
All About Hawaiian Macadamia Nuts
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Description and Botany
The Macadamia nut tree belongs to the family Proteaceae. It is native to the coastal rain forest areas of Australia. Macadamia seeds were first imported into Hawaii in 1882 by William Purvis and macadamias have since become the most important tree crop in Hawaii. Total acres in macadamia production is 20,200 acres and Hawaii’s macadamia industry is valued at $175 million annually. Major production of macadamia is on the island of Hawaii (Big Island).
Edible nuts are from two species of the genus Macadamia: Macadamia integrifolia (smooth-shell type) and Macadamia tetraphylla (rough-shell type). The macadamia nut industry in Hawaii, Australia, and many other producing areas is based primarily on the smooth-shell type. Considerable research has gone into selection and breeding of the best cultivars for Hawaii. More than 100,000 seedlings have been screened to produce the 7 perfect cultivars grown in Hawaii.
Both species are attractive, evergreen trees, which with age can attain a height of 60 feet and a spread of 40 feet. They have shiny, green, holly-like foliage. The small, perfect, cream-colored flowers are borne in axillary racemes to 12 inches long consisting of several hundred flowers. Although there are a large number of flowers in each raceme, usually not more than about 10 nuts set and mature.
Productivity
In Hawaii, commercial orchards are planted with grafted seedlings. Macadamia nut trees can start bearing a small crop in the fifth year after planting, and full production is reached in 12 to 15 years. The trees require 60 – 120 inches of rainfall a year and can be grown from sea level to an elevation of 2500 feet.
Macadamia nuts are harvested manually after they have fallen. In Hawaii, the nuts typically drop 8 to 9 months of the year from May to December. The husk and the shell accounts for most of the macadamia nut’s weight. Husk is about 50% of the whole nut. The average kernel recovery rate from "in-shell nuts" (without the husk) is about 25 to 35%. That means the kernel is only 15% of the whole macadamia nut.
Soil and Fertilization
Macadamias can be grown successfully on a variety of Hawaiian soils ranging from loose volcanic lava soils to well-drained, lateritic clays. Fertilization (3 to 4 times a year) is necessary for good production and growth. No chemical fertilizers are used on Mac's Nut Company of Hawaii's Pohoiki Farm.
Processing Macadamia Nuts
The processing of Macadamia Nuts is done differently from farm to farm and from company to company. At Mac's Nut Company of Hawai`i the processing of nuts is very labor intensive and most of the work is still done by hand. The following paragraphs will explain how we, at Mac's Nut Company, implement the various processing steps in the order of their occurrence.
The Harvest
On our 15 acre Pohoiki Farm we harvest the nuts once a month. The nuts are not picked directly from the tree. As with many other nut types, they tree-ripen and then fall to the ground. All the nuts are then "picked" by hand from the ground. The nuts are gathered in bags weighing approximately 20 pounds each and then transported to our processing facility, which is 2.5 miles from the orchard.
Removing the Husks (husking or de-husking?)
De-husking or husking means to peel off the outer fibrous green shell. Husking is done by machine and should be done within 24 hours of harvest to prevent heat respiration and molding. During this step the nuts are sorted manually. Bad nuts are discarded and nuts which are simply unacceptable for human being or pet consumption may be sold as food for farm animals (pigs love them!) or for a number of other industrial purposes. Any nuts remaining un-husked are returned to the husking machine for a second time around.
Air Drying in the Shell
When the nuts are first harvested, they have a high moisture content (up to 30%, depending on the weather) and the kernel itself fills the entire shell. By drying the nuts for about 2 weeks in open-air, well ventilated bins, the kernel starts to shrink away from the inside of the shell and becomes loose, although the moisture content is still near 15%. The nuts are now ready to be cracked with a patented process which was pioneered by Mac's Nut Company (read more about this process in the next paragraph). Other companies may dry their nuts with heat for 2 to 3 weeks to shrink the kernel and get the moisture content down to about 3% before cracking. We do not oven dry our nuts in the shell, as we feel this degrades the taste and quality of the final product.
Removing the Shell
This is where the process gets interesting. Mac's Nut Company uses a uniquely designed, patented cracker to remove the shell. It is the first pneumatic/robotic controlled Macadamia Nut cracker in existence. This, as it turns out, is a very big deal because it is capable of cracking nuts, soon after harvesting, at a moisture content of near 15%. The cracker oscillates the in-shell nuts at a low resonant vibration causing the shell to fatigue and explode away from the kernel. It can crack 10 nuts per second with up to 400 pounds per hour. Why use a device like this? Because the capability of cracking a wetter in-shell nut produces a better tasting, fresher quality product. That's why; and you should expect nothing less from us.
Dehydrating the Kernel
After the cracking process, the kernels are separated from the broken shells. This is also done manually and is very labor intensive. The kernels are cleaned with fresh water and sorted again, unacceptable kernels are taken out. The kernels are then cleaned once again and then flavored (or remain natural) and placed into our dehydrator. Dehydrating Macadamia Nuts takes 5 days and the moisture content of the kernel comes down to 1%. Our dehydrated Macadamia Nuts are healthy, tasty and ready to eat. Dehydration only minimally affects the nutritional value of Macadamia Nuts as it is the least damaging form of good preservation. The nuts are packed, vacuum sealed and ready for sale. We do not flush our packaging with any gases and we do not add preservatives. All you get is naked nuts.
Storing Your Nuts
Nuts, in general, contain lots of oil. Macadamia Nuts, in particular, contain more oils than most other nuts; therefore care should be be taken when storage is required in order to prevent the oils from becoming rancid over time (I believe the technical term is "funky"). The storage area should be cool, dry and dark. There isn't an optimum amount of time recommended for storage as there are too many variables. Perhaps a good rule of thumb is 6 months for in-shell nuts and up to a year for unopened vacuum sealed kernels. Once the vacuum sealed bag has been opened, the nuts will begin to slowly rehydrate. When resealing the bag, make sure you take as much air out as possible to prevent the nuts from reabsorbing moisture.
To avoid any problems created by long-term storage, you might seriously consider our "Subscription" program. This is a very good way to assure that your nuts are always fresh; particularly the in-shell nuts. It works like this: place your subscription order for, say, 17 lbs to delivered once every 3 months -or- 51 lbs every 6 months -or- some other quantity and shipping period that suits your special needs. We can even ship nuts to you once every month, if that is your wish. You are placed into our shipping schedule, which assures the availability of fresh nuts when you want them, and it locks-in the price for a period of one year. If you have a lively retail/wholesale business or a very hungry bird, you might want to consider this program.
Shelf life
The nuts will store reasonably well in a tightly sealed container or bag for up to 6 months. See the explanation in the section on Storage, above, for more detail.
Roasting Macadamia Nut Kernel
Our dehydrated Macadamia Nuts are healthy, tasty and ready to eat. Dehydration only minimally affects the nutritional value of Macadamia Nuts as it is the least damaging form of good preservation.
However, if you prefer them roasted, here is how to do it: Avoid roasting small pieces and whole kernel at the same time, they roast unevenly.
Preheat oven to 225 – 250 degrees F.
Place the nuts in a shallow pan. Roast pieces that are similar in size at the same time.
If you want to salt them, now is the time to do this (salt or salty water).
Put pan in oven and roast for 10 to 15 minutes or longer, stirring occasionally.
Monitor the process closely and remove them from the oven as soon as the browning process begins.
Allow to cool.
Enjoy.
Oven Drying In-Shell Macadamia Nuts
If you want to dry In-Shell Macadamia Nuts at home in your oven, do this. Use the lowest warm setting on you oven, or a food dehydrator at (the "nut" setting, if there is one) around 105 degrees F for two to three days. Test the nuts by cracking them open. The shell will become brittle and is easier to crack. If the kernel is still chewy, give them another 24 hours. When they are done, they should be crunchy when biting into them.