WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Macadamia Nuts

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<v Speaker 1>Paine. Welcome to short Stuff. I'm Josh, there's Chuck, there's

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<v Speaker 1>Jerry over there, and this is short stuff about macadamia nuts.

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<v Speaker 1>You heard me, macadamia nuts. I love macadamia nuts. I

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<v Speaker 1>do you too. They're not my favorite nuts, but they're

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<v Speaker 1>pretty high up there. I love them. I mean, you

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<v Speaker 1>can't eat a lot of them, um, because they're very,

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<v Speaker 1>very oily and very rich, and they are delicious, but

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<v Speaker 1>they're the kind of nut that And I find this

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<v Speaker 1>with a lot of nuts. For me, if you eat

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<v Speaker 1>too many of them, you get a little what do

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<v Speaker 1>I called nuts stomach? Yeah, get a little, get a

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<v Speaker 1>little nauseous, not nauseous, but just you know, a sour

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<v Speaker 1>belly you can't see straight. Yeah, it's no good. But

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<v Speaker 1>I do love macadamia nuts. But they are not nuts

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<v Speaker 1>like brazil nuts. They are seeds. Yes, And I was like, okay,

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<v Speaker 1>what's the difference between nuts and seeds. It's hard to explain.

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<v Speaker 1>Nuts are the fruit of the plant and they're surrounded

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<v Speaker 1>by a hard shell, and they actually contain seeds, and

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<v Speaker 1>seeds are an actual tiny version of the plant itself,

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<v Speaker 1>an embryo of the plant, and it's surrounded by the

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<v Speaker 1>seed coat which nourishes the plant's food for the planet

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<v Speaker 1>as it grows. That's right. And this one is chuck

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<v Speaker 1>full of good and like dinner party factoids and yes,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm using Lord factoids and chock full um. So another

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<v Speaker 1>one is you think, oh, macadamia nuts. Hawaii, of course

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<v Speaker 1>is where these things first came from. Sure, Like the

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<v Speaker 1>number one brand of macadamia nuts is Mounta Looa And

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<v Speaker 1>if that's not Hawaiian, I don't know what is. Yeah, well,

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of them do come from Hawaii for a

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<v Speaker 1>bunch of reasons. But they originated from our dear friends

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<v Speaker 1>down under in Australia, and they were brought over by

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<v Speaker 1>a man named William Purvis. He planted macadamia trees, which

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<v Speaker 1>are nice looking by the way they are, They're very pretty.

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<v Speaker 1>He planted them on the Big Island in one because

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<v Speaker 1>they were growing a lot of sugar back then. I

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<v Speaker 1>imagine they still grow a lot of sugar in Hawaii.

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<v Speaker 1>And he wanted a wind break, so he was like,

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<v Speaker 1>these trees look nice and they provide the wind break

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<v Speaker 1>that I need, so let me plant. Let me plant

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<v Speaker 1>these things. And uh, they don't produce nuts until they're

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<v Speaker 1>four or five years old. So to his delight, uh,

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<v Speaker 1>they bore a delicious uh, a delicious, yummy seed. So

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<v Speaker 1>I saw that he didn't actually, he wasn't around to

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<v Speaker 1>see that the seed could be eaten, or at the

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<v Speaker 1>very least to see it become popular. Relate to say

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<v Speaker 1>he died within four or five years. No, no, no,

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<v Speaker 1>but they didn't become popular until the twenties, about forty years,

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<v Speaker 1>that's what I mean. But surely they ate him right now.

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<v Speaker 1>I genuinely don't know. I don't know when they figured

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<v Speaker 1>it out, but I know that that some people, I

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<v Speaker 1>guess some people have figured it out by about the

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<v Speaker 1>turn of the century because the in in around nine

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<v Speaker 1>the entire global coffee market collapsed because Bolivia no Brazil,

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<v Speaker 1>ramped up its production and overproduced and so so supply

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<v Speaker 1>outstrip demand and the prices just collapsed. And that was

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<v Speaker 1>really bad for Hawaii because its economy was built in

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<v Speaker 1>large part on coffee too. So they set up the

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<v Speaker 1>Hawaiian Agricultural Experiment Station, which, if it wasn't affiliated with

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<v Speaker 1>the University of Hawaii back then, it is now, and

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<v Speaker 1>they they started saying, hey, you know what, the government

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<v Speaker 1>will subsidize your land if you start planning macadamia nuts,

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<v Speaker 1>And they actually didn't have very many takers at first.

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<v Speaker 1>Now there, you know, you'd get a five year tax exemption,

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<v Speaker 1>which is, you know, some pretty good dough. But I

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<v Speaker 1>think it just they didn't know that the world was

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<v Speaker 1>gonna go crazy for this stuff yet, so no one

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<v Speaker 1>was throwing their hat in the ring. When they did

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<v Speaker 1>find out that people like them, they really threw their

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<v Speaker 1>head in the ring. They I think it says here,

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<v Speaker 1>from uh nineteen thirty two to nineteen eight um production

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<v Speaker 1>went up from four twenty three acres to over a

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<v Speaker 1>thousand acres in Hawaii, which I don't think we mentioned

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<v Speaker 1>that the climate in Hawaii is just perfect for this stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>That's why they grow it there. Yeah, right, So like

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<v Speaker 1>the cultivars, which I didn't know this, but cultivar is

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<v Speaker 1>actually a combination of the words cultivated varieties. Did you

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<v Speaker 1>know that? Yeah? I thought we talked about that in

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<v Speaker 1>one of our episodes. Maybe we Maybe we did, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's just it didn't stick with me. But so a

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<v Speaker 1>cultivar is basically where we say, hey, we really like

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<v Speaker 1>this plant that's native to Australia. We're gonna really um

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<v Speaker 1>work it over and and and basically breed it into

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<v Speaker 1>a different version of itself. And that's what a cultivar is.

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<v Speaker 1>And with the cultivars that are um have been used

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<v Speaker 1>in Hawaii for you know, a century or so now, um,

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<v Speaker 1>they don't grow very well outside of Hawaii, which from

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<v Speaker 1>what I can tell, I mean, if you read between

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<v Speaker 1>the lines here, Hawaii has basically the market cornered on

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<v Speaker 1>macadamian nuts, which is good for Hawaii and for Hawaii's

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<v Speaker 1>mac damia nut farmers, but bad for the world because

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<v Speaker 1>the global demand for macadamia nuts just keeps growing and

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<v Speaker 1>it's not like the Hawaiian islands are growing anymore. So

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<v Speaker 1>that's it's actually created a bit of a problem market wise,

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<v Speaker 1>which we'll talk about in a little bit. All right,

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<v Speaker 1>we'll be right back, all right. So, if you've ever

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<v Speaker 1>been to the store, you're like, man, I want to

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<v Speaker 1>crush up some sweet macadamia nuts, and I want to

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<v Speaker 1>dredge my fish filet and that stuff and cook it

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<v Speaker 1>up in the oven. You're like McDonald's flay of fish. No, no, no, no, no,

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<v Speaker 1>have you ever done that? It's really good? I have.

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<v Speaker 1>As a matter of fact, there's a restaurant chain called

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<v Speaker 1>Roy's Hawaiian and they have a macadamia crusted that's really

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<v Speaker 1>really good. It's very delicious, very easy to do. But uh,

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<v Speaker 1>you might find that you're spending as much on your

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<v Speaker 1>macadamia nuts as you are your fish because it's expensive.

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<v Speaker 1>They consider it what's called the dessert nut, um, rather

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<v Speaker 1>than what's called a commodity crop, like any old other

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<v Speaker 1>dumb nut that you can just get tons and tons

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<v Speaker 1>of or seed because who can tell what's water anymore exactly.

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<v Speaker 1>But here's the deal. There's quite a few factors that

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<v Speaker 1>go into why. Um, you already mentioned that, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>they really have the market quartern in Hawaii, so that's

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<v Speaker 1>a big deal. Um. It takes seven years for a

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<v Speaker 1>nut tree to produce a crop, so that's obviously going

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<v Speaker 1>to drive up price some when you have to wait

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<v Speaker 1>a long time for an output. Yeah, and we said

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<v Speaker 1>like four to five earlier. It's it's somewhere between four

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<v Speaker 1>and seven. Yeah. Yeah, the person in the interview said

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<v Speaker 1>seven years. But yeah, between four and seven. He may

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<v Speaker 1>have been like inflating the numbers, you know, Yeah. Maybe.

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<v Speaker 1>So another thing is there are labor shortages in the

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<v Speaker 1>agricultural field in Hawaii, so you know they're having to

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<v Speaker 1>pay them more and pay them more benefits, so that's

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<v Speaker 1>driving up cost. They're invasive pests that hit macodaemias. They

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<v Speaker 1>felt it COCD cocid. I was gonna say, coxid, coxid.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what I'm going with. That's going to drive up

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<v Speaker 1>the price. And the most important thing, probably though, is

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<v Speaker 1>what you were alluding to, which is Hawaii's very expensive.

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<v Speaker 1>The land is really expensive, and because you have to

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<v Speaker 1>wait for to seven years to get a crop like there,

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<v Speaker 1>it's just not feasible to expand all these orchards, so

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<v Speaker 1>you're kind of like, just don't have a ton of growth. No,

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<v Speaker 1>that's right. So like the production and supply is basically

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<v Speaker 1>remaining steady while the demand goes up, which is how

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<v Speaker 1>you get macadamia nuts that go for twenty five dollars

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<v Speaker 1>a pound, and that's a lot of money. So really,

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<v Speaker 1>if you think about it, depending on the fish you're eating,

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<v Speaker 1>it's maybe twice as much as that fish that you're

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<v Speaker 1>you're using the macadamia nuts to crust. Where you think

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<v Speaker 1>I'm bringing some trash gelope in their garbage garbage fish,

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<v Speaker 1>I've heard telapia is referred to as the rats of

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<v Speaker 1>the sea. Have you ever heard that? Uh? No, but

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<v Speaker 1>I definitely um learned a lot over the years because

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<v Speaker 1>in my younger days, I thought like telapi was a

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<v Speaker 1>very fancy thing. Yeah, I I used to like it,

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<v Speaker 1>and then I heard it called the rats of the sea,

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<v Speaker 1>and I was like, I can't eat I can't eat

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<v Speaker 1>this anymore. Although seeing lobster called cockroaches of the sea

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<v Speaker 1>didn't do much to to thwart my love of lobster. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I'll take a buttered mayonnaise cockroach roll any day. Delicious.

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<v Speaker 1>So our macadamia nuts. You know, they're super high in

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<v Speaker 1>calories and fat, But does that mean they're bad for you? No? No,

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<v Speaker 1>supposedly they're very very good for you. Um, especially if

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<v Speaker 1>they haven't been coated in delicious Maisie chocolate. Yeah, you

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<v Speaker 1>don't need that stuff. No, you do, you do, but

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<v Speaker 1>just don't count it as like healthy. Have you ever

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<v Speaker 1>had the Maisie chocolate covered Macadamian? No, it is delicious,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'm just saying a Macadamian to me, isn't something

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<v Speaker 1>you have to dress upus. Have you had the spam

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<v Speaker 1>dusted macadamia nuts. I think someone sentenced those, Yes, and

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<v Speaker 1>they're amazingly good. Yeah, But if you're if you're just

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<v Speaker 1>talking about there's a plain old natural roasted macadamia nuts,

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<v Speaker 1>it actually is pretty good for you. They're very high

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<v Speaker 1>in calories, but they also contain a lot of really

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<v Speaker 1>good fats, mono unsaturated fats, which are the kind that

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<v Speaker 1>actually lower your LDL cholesterol. They have a lot of carbs,

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<v Speaker 1>but they also have a lot of fiber. And so

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<v Speaker 1>anybody who's ever been on a keto diet like Atkins

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<v Speaker 1>or something like that can tell you it's the net

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<v Speaker 1>carbs that you care about. So you subject the grams

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<v Speaker 1>of fiber from the total grams of carbs, and you

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<v Speaker 1>end up with net carbs, and those are the ones

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<v Speaker 1>that you start counting. And apparently with macodaemia nuts, the

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<v Speaker 1>net carbs are actually fairly low. And because there are,

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<v Speaker 1>they're high in carbs below in net carbs, that means

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<v Speaker 1>the fiber in them, like plant liber is among the

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<v Speaker 1>best stuff you can eat. It keeps you so healthy,

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<v Speaker 1>it keeps your gut by microbiota happy and thriving. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>So apparently macadamia nuts are chock full of them, as

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<v Speaker 1>you would say. Yeah, they are also chock full of

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<v Speaker 1>vitamins and minerals um, manganese, diamond, copper, yeah, which copper

0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:25.960
<v Speaker 1>apparently um aids in in what some sort of transport

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<v Speaker 1>and absorption. Yeah, I can't remember what it was. It

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<v Speaker 1>says in't here and I was like, I didn't know

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<v Speaker 1>copper did that. God bless copper. I wonder people are

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<v Speaker 1>stealing it from houses iron absorption, okay, which is good. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>people do steal it, don't They from like a c

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<v Speaker 1>units or catalytic converter. Come on, sure that's somebody else's

0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:53.000
<v Speaker 1>catalytic converter. So chock full of despite being high in calories,

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<v Speaker 1>chock full of that good fiber, those good heart healthy

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<v Speaker 1>fats and proteins and vitamins and minerals um, you still

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to see it down and eat a bowl

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<v Speaker 1>full of them, because, like I said, they're very rich.

0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:07.240
<v Speaker 1>But they say, you know to it's a good filling nuts.

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<v Speaker 1>So if if you grab a handful between meals or something,

0:11:10.920 --> 0:11:14.480
<v Speaker 1>that's way better than eating potato chips or some you know,

0:11:14.600 --> 0:11:18.559
<v Speaker 1>processed ultraprocessed foods, right right, Yeah, and yeah, it'll keep

0:11:18.559 --> 0:11:21.640
<v Speaker 1>you full like between meals or something you just made

0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:23.800
<v Speaker 1>me think of, like sitting down and eating an actual

0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:28.400
<v Speaker 1>bowl full of just like he's just sick. Just start

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<v Speaker 1>growing up from overeating macadamia nuts. Can you imagine? No?

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<v Speaker 1>I talked about the oil content though they are seventy

0:11:37.800 --> 0:11:40.840
<v Speaker 1>oil and I did not know this. Here's another little

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<v Speaker 1>factoid to finish us off. You can throw a You

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<v Speaker 1>can throw any nut into water the toilet and see

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<v Speaker 1>if it floats. And if it's got se oil like

0:11:53.600 --> 0:11:56.520
<v Speaker 1>that macadamia nut, it's gonna float. Yeah. And if it doesn't,

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<v Speaker 1>apparently they just go flush yep, washed them down the toilet.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think mecademia nuts are actually tested in a toilet.

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<v Speaker 1>Think so I'm hoping not. Well, let's say for macademia nuts, Charles,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm what about you, Jerry anything? M That's right? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>thank you for joining us on Short Stuff Short Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>Away Stuff You Should Know is a production of iHeart

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