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Sunday, January 9, 2011

macadamia nuts and presents for you

Bryron shire is well known for its glut of macadamia farms. The area's sub tropical rainforests provide perfect growing conditions.

When you look for land or homes to buy you will occassionally see a sign announcing "No Macs!" which is a joy for those who want to just sit back and enjoy the life, not be out picking nuts.

 The property we stayed on had quite a few acres of macadamia trees and the gentleman who owns the block owns two more blocks - one growing more macadamias and on the other he grows coffee.

The girls and I rose with the chooks and went for a wander through the trees one morning; we came back to the house with hands and pockets full of nuts!














The macadamia nut is the fruit of an Australian native tree, and is a deliciously delicately flavoured nut....but it is arguably the world's hardest nut to crack! This one looks cracked but it is just it's outer shell splitting open - there is still another layer to go! We used a hammer.

I said in my post yesterday that I had brought home presents ~ well here they are:

~A bag of Brookfarm natural macadamia muesli. Brookfarm is Australia's most awarded producer of fine gourmet macadamia products and are produced in Byron Bay,
~ Stotts Delicacies of Queensland macadamia flvoured loose leaf tea,
~ White choc chunk and macadamia nut cookies from the Bryron Bay Cookie Company (I mean what's a cup of tea with a biscuit?),
~ and a couple of handfuls (about 100g) of fresh roasted macadamia nuts. You will need to supply your own hammer :)
So hands up who wants them. To get your name in the magic hat leave a comment telling me why macadamia nuts are so expensive... and leave Hawaii out of it!
Friends and family who actually know me in the flesh - I didn't bring home any other pressies so you better be in it to win it. Oh! I will post anywhere, customs permitting.
Umm I'll get my big girl to pull out a name next Sunday evening; say 7ish Qld time...get cracking.

9 comments:

Linda said...

Hello dear friend! It is so good to see you blogging again:) Thank you so much for my lovely Christmas card, it was a wonderful surprise:)
Ok for the giveaway, they are so expensive because of the processing involved to get the nuts out of the shells:)
Wishing you an amazing 2011
xo Linda

momma rae said...

hmmmm....because they are so hard to crack? because they are pure decadence? thanks for the offer!! :)

Kirsten said...

Hi! I've never actually commented before, but have been lurking for awhile!

I'd be guessing that they are so expensive because of the way they'd have to get the nuts out. It would be a delicate process cracking the outside, without damaging the precious inside!

Southern Season Exchange said...

OOOOh yumm!! I love the photos of your two girls at the end of your post. Just beautiful.

Anonymous said...

A swift Google shows that lower than expected production has meant higher prices. On top of that the Big Wet has meant rat eradication has not been possible, and about 10 per cent of the NSW/Queensland crop has been eaten by rats! And the shortage is world-wide, so nut farmers are a bit happier that their crops will sell. themother

Rebecca said...

A late entry... ;-)

They are so expensive because they are the solidified milk of mother nature...

XXXX

Anonymous said...

Whoops, another late comer and lurker. I would guess they are so expensive because of the difficult process to release the nutty goodness. But in my opinion it would be because they are THE best nuts in the world. I remember that my Grandma would bring my a little can of the them back from her annual trip to Hawaii when I was a kid. We secretly ate them together-all alone. I really thought that she had found this special nut in Hawaii just for me. What a treat!
-violet
P.S. Love your blog...

S said...

Hello there...you are still welcome to leave a general comment but the pressie is gone! Cheers.

Anonymous said...

Here in the States we get macadamias out with a PVC cutter from the hardware store (for cutting PVC pipes). It cuts the shell beautifully, without smashing the meat all to bits. I don't know if you have the same thing there, though.

Roberta