Most of the macadamias grown in the world are grown in Hawaii, but the crunchy, creamy nuts are in fact native to Australia. While macadamia nuts originate and are cultivated in Australia, commercial production occurs primarily in Hawaii. Some countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia also grow macadamia nuts, while the trees are found in California and Florida for the continental United States. The macadamia tree originated in the rainforests of Queensland, Australia.
Aboriginal people considered macadamia nuts a delicacy and a treasure. In the 1880s, the first macadamia plantation was established in New South Wales. It was around the same time that macadamia nuts were brought to Hawaii. It wasn't until the early 20th century that macadamia nuts began to be cultivated in Hawaii as a cash crop.
Today, macadamia nuts are also cultivated in Florida and California, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Currently, Africa is the world's largest producer of macadamia nuts. The macadamia tree is related to the protein family. Practically all of the macadamia nuts in Hawaii come from the Big Island of Hawaii.
Hawaii was the site of the world's first commercial macadamia nut farm. A sugar plantation manager named William H. Purvis introduced macadamia to Hawaii in the late 19th century. In 1946, Castle & Cooke, known as the owner of the Dole Pineapple Company, planted his first orchard, which would later produce macadamia nuts from Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp.
Flowering trees originated in northeastern Australia, and Aboriginal Australians ate the nuts. In Hawaii, unpeeled macadamias began the season with their highest net agricultural value in history, 100 cents per pound, and ended the season with a new record of 110 cents per pound. Despite being found in a narrow strip of subtropical rainforest, macadamia native to Australia had a rich diversity compared to commercial crops, Hardner said. After that drying period, the nuts must be dried in an oven at 100 degrees to finish the drying process.
And because trees take four to six months to bloom, all nuts ripen at different times of the year. At 20.9 grams of fat per pound, they contain more fat than any other nut, which is why people used to think that macadamia nuts were unhealthy. Because of this and the cost of harvesting, macadamia orchards generally require significant capital investment. A well-managed orchard with a distance between trees of 8 meters by 4 meters (or 312 trees per hectare) is expected to produce a maximum of 3.5 to 4 tons of nuts with shells per ha (12 to 13 kilograms per tree) at maturity, although poorly managed orchards or those in poor places may not reach these figures.
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. Compared to other common edible nuts, such as almonds and cashews, macadamias are high in total fat and relatively low in protein. For example, in the district of Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii, coffee is sometimes grown between macadamia trees. Beautiful medium-sized macadamia trees grew in the rainforests of southeastern Queensland (the perfect place for the queen of nuts) and New South Wales, in eastern Australia.
Originally from Australia, William Purvis planted the first macadamia tree on the Big Island in 1881.A macadamia tree needs additional care and protection in areas where the temperature drops below 45 degrees. .
