The Nutty Chef

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kukui nuts
From husking to shelling, preparing macadamia nuts is time-consuming, but so worth the effort.

Macadamia Nut (Macadamia integrifolia)

Aboriginal Australians know the fruit of this indigenous tree, a member of the Proteaceae family, as bauple, gyndl and boombera. I grew up knowing it simply as “mac nuts,” and bruised many a finger while pounding the hard shell with a lava rock to get to the sweet meat.

Today, that “tough nut to crack” has come a long way: the extracted oil is valued in skin-care products, thanks to its antioxidant, omega-3 properties and compounds that simulate the skin’s natural sebum. Maiden Hawaii Naturals uses the oil as a base in insect repellent.

Who are we kidding? Eating them is best! Whether dipped in chocolate, roasted with salt, or baked into desserts, macadamia nuts are arguably Hawai‘i’s most revered export, part of the local economy and diet since they arrived in the islands 150 years ago. No time to forage? Shop for them Saturday mornings at the Upcountry Farmers Market near Longs Drugs in Pukalani, where you can also buy probiotic mac-nut spreads by Maui Ola. (Try the red pepper, my fave.)

Want more? Fairmont Kea Lani’s Executive Chef Tylun Pang included mac-nut-crusted mahimahi in his book What Maui Likes to Eat. Buy the book at Amazon.com; proceeds benefit the University of Hawai‘i’s Maui Culinary Academy.

And if you’d rather have someone else do the cooking, check our Dining Highlights recommendations in the July-August 2016 issue.

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