We've been
harvesting the macadamia nuts from our tree, as we noticed we had robbers coming at night and eating the nuts. These
robbers are four legged, very quiet and creepy little creatures… Rats…
They climb the tree
and get to the biggest ones at the top. I don't know how they can go through
the nut shell (which is extremely hard) and
clean the entire kernel inside.
I've been told they love it as it helps keep their sharp teeth short ...
Nuts opened by rats |
No wonder we only
had a few baskets of nuts last year. But this year we've beat them to it .This
little sucker had his last feed of macadamia (he died happy, as the bait was a
fresh juicy nut...)
Ratatouille no more... RIP |
This year we've
harvested 22 kgs… and approximately 1500 nuts,
with some amazing unusual large ones…
Our largest nuts (won't fit in the machine!) |
We've also had 3
sets of twins, huge… fitting snugly in the husks. We won't eat these. They will
be our lucky nuts!...
Our lucky nuts! |
However, it was a
full day job to dehusk all these nuts. At first we tried to open them with a
knife, which was a long and tedious process.
4 more baskets to dehusk |
But Svenne suddenly had a very clever
"chippy" idea. Give them a couple of whacks with a hammer and the
husk splits open. We just had to peel it off then, which was much easier and
quicker.
I'm now left with 2
huge rubbish bags of husks, which I will use as mulch later on.
Ready to be cracked open |
Thanks to Steve and
Colin for their Christmas gift which has
already come very handy… much easier than using a vice! Such a clever little
machine.
Best device to have if you've got a macadamia nut tree |
I've toasted and
salted a batch over Easter and it didn't take long for them to disappear. And
my persimmon and macadamia nuts slice was also a success.
Persimmon and macadamia nut slice |
More experiences
coming soon: sweet nuts, chocolate
coated nuts, savoury nuts, chilli nuts….
Stages to go before you can taste them |
And to sum it up!
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