Macadamia nuts. Sunnysun0803/ pixabay.com / CC0 1.0
The 4th of September is Macadamia Nut Day.
Warning: This food holiday contains nuts! And that’s not just the people who invent and promote these whacky food days, either!
Today celebrates macadamia nuts, which started to become widely popular in the second half of the 1900s.
The nuts have a mellow rich flavour, and a buttery texture. Fans say that they pair well with white chocolate, or ice cream.
Many people associate macadamias with Hawaii, but the Australians would have a word or two to say about that, because the nuts actually originated there. The aboriginal people who harvested them for tens of thousands of years in Australia had lots of different names for the nut, but we named it after a Dr. John Macadam, instead.
Since the 2010s, South Africa has become the world’s largest producer.
Macadamia nuts are a very hard nut to crack — literally. They have an incredibly hard shell.
But since today’s the day, just plan to have the right equipment on hand to get into them — and get cracking!
#MacadamiaNutDay #NationalMacadamiaNutDay
See also: Macadamia Nuts, Macadamia Oil
Activities for today
- Use macadamia nuts in cookies or sweet breads;
- crush and use as a coating for fish;
- crumble them over a mesclun salad;
- mix in with popcorn;
- make some peanut brittle using macadamia nuts instead;
- try some macadamia nut butter.
Sources
Crack a mac today to celebrate World Macadamia Nut Day. Lismore, NSW, Australia: Australian Macadamia Society. 4 September 2020. Accessed October 2021 at https://australianmacadamias.org/industry/news/crack-a-mac-today-to-celebrate-world-macadamia-nut-day
Gubler, Downna. National Macadamia Nut Day. St. George, UT: Washington County Council on Aging. 29 August 2018. Accessed October 2021 at http://coa.washco.utah.gov/hurricane/2018/08/29/national-macadamia-nut-day/
Hawkins, Stephen. Michael celebrates National Macadamia Nut Day. Freso, California: KMPH TV. 4 September 2019. Accessed October 2021 at https://kmph.com/great-day/michael-in-the-mix/michael-celebrates-national-macadamia-nut-day
Isom, Cathy. Celebrating National Macadamia Nut Day. Southeast Agnet Radio. 4 September 2018. Accessed October 2021 at http://southeastagnet.com/2018/09/04/celebrating-national-macadamia-nut-day/
Perlow, Becky. National macadamia nut day. CNN. 4th September 2012. Accessed October 2021 at https://eatocracy.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/04/national-macadamia-nut-day/
September 4 – National Macadamia Nut Day. New York City Food Days. 4 September 2012. Accessed October 2021 at https://nycfooddays.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/september-4-national-macadamia-nut-day/