Experts say that the state of Puebla in Mexico is the second-largest producer of macadamia nuts in the country. Puebla's biggest consumers of macadamia nuts are of Asian origin and live in Mexico or the United States. Macadamia nuts are often prepared roasted or fried in popular Asian recipes. In the world of nuts, macadamias are the standard of reference since they cost more than 30 dollars per kilo.
These native Australians, consumed by Aboriginal people before the arrival of Europeans, are generally associated with Hawaii and are commonly sold as souvenirs and gifts on the islands. However, commercial cultivation of macadamias did not begin there until the 1930s and began in California in the 1950s. Walnuts are also cultivated in parts of Africa and Central and South America. By comparison, Mexico was late in the macadamia business.
This notable lack of genetic diversity means that macadamia crops are at greater risk of succumbing to diseases or changes in climate than trees with a more diverse population, according to a report published in The Guardian. Meanwhile, countries such as China, which import them on a large scale, are now working to grow their own crops because of the value of walnuts. Compared to other common edible nuts, such as almonds and cashews, macadamias are high in total fat and relatively low in protein. Flowering trees originated in northeastern Australia, and Aboriginal Australians ate walnuts.
So if you're going to Queensland soon and you see the telltale green nuts hanging from a tree, send a leaf sample here, and you can help preserve Australia's fattiest wild nuts. And because trees take four to six months to bloom, all nuts ripen at different times of the year. After that drying period, the nuts must be dried in a 100-degree oven to finish the drying process. However, the global supply of macadamia is expected to increase, thanks to countries such as China planting macadamia trees.
They can also be used in certain savory dishes, such as trout in macadamia batter prepared at the trout farm restaurant outside the Uruapan National Park, and in the creamy macadamia sauce that has become part of Michoacán's regional cuisine. Shellless nuts are considerably cheaper, but they're not recommended unless you have a lot of patience or a pet macaw to break the shells. As it turns out, macadamias, the most expensive nuts in the world, thrive in the same mountain fog that is so good for growing coffee, another important crop in the Sierra. Its thick shell, which is often removed before sale, makes it difficult to distinguish ripe nuts from immature ones, making the harvesting process more laborious and expensive.
On the bright side, it has a high commercial yield; 17 kg (37 pounds) have been recorded from a 9-year-old tree, and the nuts fall to the ground. In 1999, the government of the state of Puebla granted grants to farmers in the Sierra Norte region for the planting and cultivating of macadamias, which are also cultivated, to a lesser extent, in Michoacán and Veracruz. While there are ten species of macadamia trees, only 2 produce the expensive nuts, and it takes seven to 10 years for the trees to start producing nuts. It wasn't until the early 20th century that bulk amounts of macadamia nuts began to be cultivated in Hawaii as a cash crop.
