Processing macadamia nuts at home involves several steps following harvest: husking, drying, cracking, roasting, and salting. None of these steps is easily accomplished at home, but these instructions provide a guide to allow you to produce an acceptable product

Cavaletto, Catherine G.

ScholarSpace at University of Hawai'i at Manoa

Published by the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) and issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Andrew G. Hashimoto, Director/Dean, Cooperative Extension Service/CTAHR, Universityof Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822. An Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Institution providing programs and services to the people of Hawaii withoutregard to race, sex, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, arrest and court record, sexual orientation, or veteran status.CTAHR publications can be found on the Web site <http://www2.ctahr.hawaii.edu> or ordered by calling 808-956-7046 or sending e-mail to ctahrpub@hawaii.edu.Fruits and NutsJune 2002F&N-6Macadamia nuts, famous as “Hawaii’s desert nut,”can be grown in many parts of the islands and area favorite as a snacking nut or baking nut. Processingthese nuts at home involves several steps following har-vest: husking, drying, cracking, roasting, and salting.None of these steps is easily accomplished at home, butthe following instructions provide a guide to allow youto produce a product that, although not quite the sameas a commercial product, will be acceptable.1. Remove the outer husk from the nuts soon after gath-ering them.2. Air-dry them in their shells for two to three weeksby spreading them out in layers not more than two nutsdeep, preferably on screens, in the shade. Have goodcirculation of air. The nuts should be sufficiently dry tocrack—that is, they should be loosened from the shell.3. Crack the nuts using a vise or a cracker speciallymade for cracking macadamia nuts. Separate the shells.The nuts are now ready for the final drying step. Ideally,a home food dehydrator should be used so that the dry-ing temperature can be well controlled. A second-best,more problematic alternative is to dry the nuts in an ovenat low temperature.Start the drying at 100°F, to dry them very slowly.After perhaps two days, increase the heat to 140°F. Be-cause of the wide range of possible drying conditions, itProcessing Macadamia Nuts at Homeis difficult to predict how long the drying process willtake. Check the texture of the kernels periodically bybiting into a kernel. Completely dry kernels will be verycrisp.The drying process needs to be slow. If the tem-perature is too high, the kernels may be unevenly dried,change color, or have brown centers when roasted. Af-ter the kernels have dried thoroughly, they are ready forroasting. If you are going to use them soon, they can bestored in tightly sealed jars for a short while, but theyalso will keep very well if frozen. For longer storage,freeze them, but be sure to thaw them in the closed jarbefore further use.4. To roast macadamia nuts, place dried kernels in theoven at 275°F for 20–30 minutes. Wire-screen trays arebest for the roasting process, but a baking sheet can beused if the kernels are stirred periodically. Check thecolor development as the roasting progresses, and roastto the desired golden color.5. For salted macadamia nuts, coat the roasted kernelsvery lightly with a small quantity of salad oil. Apply thedesired amount of salt and stir to distribute the saltevenly. Place the nuts in a jar to protect them from pick-ing up moisture. If they are not to be consumed soon,they may be kept frozen for up to a year.6. ENJOY!Catherine G. Cavaletto, Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences

Processing Macadamia Nuts at Home

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Processing Macadamia Nuts at Home

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