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Macadamia nuts everywhere you turn. Have a friend on the mainland who wants some unshelled nuts. Those, apparently, are hard to find. Went to Mauna Loa macadamia visitor's center, but nope -- you can buy 4 in a little packet intended for gardeners who want to grow trees.
I was tempted to just stop the car on the way out and see if there were any on the ground, but I didn't.
Don't recall seeing these at the Farmer's Market either.
?
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We get ours on the side of the road on the way to Ka'u. There are orchards where the trees overhang a steep grade that leads to the road and the nuts fall onto the grade and roll down to the side of the road and in some areas it appears the rain had swept them all into huge piles. We've gone out there twice to harvest the free road nuts. Enough to nearly fill a garbage bag. Unfortunately we haven't been out there in over a year, so I can't remember the exact location. But when you see the mac nut trees, the steep grade, you'll know you're in the right area.
ETA: not to hijack this thread, but does anybody sell mac nut trees? And is there a variety (grafted or whatever) that doesn't take forever to nut?
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I've gotten nuts from one of the plant vendors at Makuu, a few stalls up from Pokifruit ("the grafted citrus guy"), I think his name is Phil.
Pokifruit might also have the trees, and if not, will probably know where to find some; there are two major varietals, plant the one that goes with your altitude.
As for mainland export, you'd have to ask USDA, and my guess is they will say "no", because bugs can live in the nuts.
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A google experience...[url][
http://www.nuts.com/nuts/macadamianuts/i...l.html/url]. I wondered why people would want them in the shell. For large caged birds, for one thing.
Peace and long life
Peace and long life
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Eight years ago when I moved to BI and stayed at Waiakea Villa in Hilo for three months, I remember there were a few macadamia nut trees behind the Water Department building. Used to pick some nuts on the ground and tried to crack them.
You might want to check them out.
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Oh, I just remember that one of my neighbors grows macadamia nut trees on her second acre lot, here in HPP. And she sells the unshelled nuts too.
I can e-mail you their phone number thru PW, if you want to contact them.
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Our macaws can only open them if we crack the shell first. We did have a scarlet macaw that could open them on his own but that is unusual. They have the strength to do it but don't like to apply that much force unless they can detect a seam or crack. Generally only the hyacinth macaws eat macadamia nuts still in the shell.
Of course with a hyacinth macaw to open your mac nuts for you, you need a special nutcracker. This is the best type I have found:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/I1QbWveE_SY
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I tried to take a mac nut on the plane once; ag inspection removed the hull, let me take the nut in shell. Hull bad, shell OK.
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