WEBVTT - Why Are Macadamia Nuts So Expensive? 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:06.480 Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 0:00:06.559 --> 0:00:11.200 rain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam. Here. First things first, macadamia 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:14.880 nuts are not actually nuts. Yes, I know, it's ridiculous. 0:00:14.920 --> 0:00:16.759 It's right there in the name for goodness sake, but 0:00:17.079 --> 0:00:19.560 much like brazil nuts. Again, what is it with these 0:00:19.600 --> 0:00:23.560 misleading names. The macadamia is in fact a seed, and 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:27.840 although they've become a signature staple of Hawaiian agriculture, macadamias 0:00:27.880 --> 0:00:32.360 are actually native to Australia. We spoke with Glenn Sacco, 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:35.559 and economic development specialist with the Hawaii County Department of 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:40.440 Research and Development. He explained macadamia nuts are originally from Australia, 0:00:40.720 --> 0:00:43.440 but much of the early research, breeding work, and quality 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:46.000 development were done by the University of Hawaii on the 0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:49.560 island of Hawaii. These cultivars are suited for the Hawaii 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:52.040 climate and do not produce the same high quality nut 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:57.640 when grown in foreign conditions. Cultivars is short for cultivated varieties, 0:00:58.000 --> 0:01:01.400 and these are specific types of plays selected and cultivated 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:05.199 by humans. In this case, the plant is a large 0:01:05.240 --> 0:01:08.280 bushy tree that starts producing macademia nuts by the time 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:12.119 it's about four or five years old, so how exactly 0:01:12.160 --> 0:01:16.000 did these Australian cultivars end up in Hawaii. For that, 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:18.960 you can thank one William Purvis, who planted the first 0:01:19.000 --> 0:01:23.120 macademia tree on the Big Island in one Purvis didn't 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:25.720 initially intend for the tree seeds to be a hit. 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:28.960 He planted the trees as wind breaks for the sugarcane fields. 0:01:29.600 --> 0:01:32.520 The plants were functional and also happened to be quite pretty, 0:01:32.880 --> 0:01:35.520 but he didn't suspect they could bear such delectable and 0:01:35.640 --> 0:01:40.160 profitable seeds. About a decade later, one R. A. Jordan 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:43.960 planted some macademia trees on Oahu, the trees that researchers 0:01:44.000 --> 0:01:47.200 think is the ancestor of most of Hawaii's trees, and 0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:50.160 the nut quickly became a popular snack among businessmen who 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:54.160 came to Hawaii to profit off of sugar plantations. In 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:57.480 the early nineteen hundreds, the Hawaiian Agricultural Experiment Station was 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:00.680 established to get new crops growing on the island. Since 0:02:00.760 --> 0:02:04.320 this newly established United States territory was relying almost exclusively 0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:07.720 on sugar following the collapse of the coffee market in 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:10.560 the nineteen twenties, the government offered a five year tax 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:13.480 exemption on land that was used solely for macademia production, 0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:18.280 but most farmers weren't interested. That is, until roasted macadamia 0:02:18.360 --> 0:02:22.160 nuts started popping up in stores and consumers went wild. 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:24.960 Demand for the nuts went up, and the number of 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:27.880 trees planted for nut production more than doubled from nineteen 0:02:27.919 --> 0:02:31.000 thirty two to nineteen thirty eight. Sales slumped a bit 0:02:31.040 --> 0:02:33.960 after that, but by the nineteen fifties, Hawaii was churning 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:37.080 out macadaemia goodies to stack fans throughout the world, and 0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:40.639 major companies were making a pretty penny off of them. 0:02:40.680 --> 0:02:45.720 Speaking of why are macadamia is so expensive? While macadamia's 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:48.720 clearly have an interesting past and they taste heavenly coated 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:51.679 in thick layers of chocolate, do they really merit their 0:02:51.840 --> 0:02:55.320 often exorbitant price tag. After all, At around twenty five 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:58.240 dollars a pound, they're considered the most expensive nuts in 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:02.440 the world, So what's the deal? A bunch of factors 0:03:02.440 --> 0:03:04.359 go into the price, but a lot of them come 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:07.160 down to the fact that macadamias can't be grown effectively 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:10.040 on the continental United States, and shipping them in from 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:13.600 Hawaii is costly, and growing things in Hawaii is costly 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:16.720 to begin with, because it's a small archipelago that some 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:20.200 three thousand miles that's nearly five thousand kilometers away from 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:25.200 anything in Macadamius made the news for a seventeen percent 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:29.480 price increase, which Sacho attributed to Hawaii's fixed harvest acreage 0:03:29.720 --> 0:03:34.280 and a higher global demand. Furthermore, a Sacho said, it 0:03:34.320 --> 0:03:37.080 takes seven years for a macadamia nut tree to produce 0:03:37.120 --> 0:03:40.120 a crop. Demand remains high and prices are up to 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:44.400 a dollar twenty per pound. Despite this, there's tremendous pressure 0:03:44.440 --> 0:03:48.360 on the industry. The agricultural labor shortage continues and that's 0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:53.080 caused wages and benefit costs to increase. Invasive pests continue 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:56.680 to affect the orchard health and production. The Hawaii land 0:03:56.720 --> 0:03:59.760 prices are so high that orchard expansion is too costly 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:03.800 and producers can't wait for seven years. Therefore, the production 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:09.640 acreage remains steady despite the increased demand for the nuts. Okay, 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:13.640 so that explains the cost, But are they actually good 0:04:13.680 --> 0:04:17.039 for you? High fat foods used to be the most 0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:20.600 demonized of all kitchen staples, basically because of a very 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:23.520 effective and sort of insidious marketing campaign put out by 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:27.720 the sugar industry, but thanks to current research and slightly 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:31.120 less hysteric marketing hype, such things as nuts, oils, and 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:35.000 seeds are getting their due as healthy options. We also 0:04:35.080 --> 0:04:39.440 spoke with registered dietitian at Danielle Burniture. She said macadamia 0:04:39.520 --> 0:04:43.640 nuts are high in mono unsaturated fats, low in net carbohydrates, 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:47.640 and a good source of copper, manganese, and diamond. Mono 0:04:47.720 --> 0:04:50.520 Unsaturated fatty acids have been shown to lower L d 0:04:50.720 --> 0:04:54.160 L cholesterol levels the bad kind, especially when they're used 0:04:54.160 --> 0:04:57.800 in place of saturated fats and refined carbohydrates in one's diet. 0:04:58.600 --> 0:05:01.039 Net carbs are important to consider because it clues you 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:03.280 in on how much fiber something contains in relation to 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:06.640 the amount of total carbohydrates present. Having more fiber is 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:10.359 crucial to gut health. Copper assists with iron absorption and 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:13.479 transport in the body, while manganese and diamon are essential 0:05:13.520 --> 0:05:18.160 for carbohydrate metabolism. And while all of that sounds great, 0:05:18.520 --> 0:05:20.960 we still live in a society that tends to obsess 0:05:21.000 --> 0:05:24.440 over numbers. So at two hundred and three calories and 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:27.360 twenty one grams of fat per serving, a single serving 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:30.760 being just ten to twelve nut kernels, and that's just nuts, 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:34.480 not nuts, dust and chocolate are macadamia is really a 0:05:34.480 --> 0:05:40.000 wholesome snack. Burniture said. Although nuts are hiring calories, they're 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:43.760 also packed with fiber, heart healthy fats, protein, vitamins, and 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:47.400 minerals essential to our diets. Having a small handful is 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:50.680 a filling and nutritious snack to tied you over between meals, 0:05:50.800 --> 0:05:52.200 or it can be used as a way to round 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:54.919 out a meal on top of a salad or yogurt bowl. 0:05:55.680 --> 0:05:59.000 They are a particularly good substitute for packaged ultra processed 0:05:59.040 --> 0:06:02.560 snacks like potato chips. Calorie for calorie, an ounce of 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:05.360 chips and ounce of nuts are equivalent, but the protein 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:07.680 and fiber in the nuts will keep you energized, full 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:12.640 and focused. She said. Don't fear fats. They're essential for 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:16.400 hormone health, optimal brain function, and absorption of many nutrients. 0:06:17.600 --> 0:06:21.080 And according to Sacho, macadamia's aren't just a delicious treat 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:24.080 for humans, they can be healthy snacks for rodents too. 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:27.400 He said. Some pet rat owners buy the nuts in 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:29.120 the shell to give to the rats to gnaw on. 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:37.000 This helps wear down the rats teeth Today's episode was 0:06:37.040 --> 0:06:40.400 written by Michelle Konstantinovski and produced by Tyler Clay. Brain 0:06:40.440 --> 0:06:42.679 Stuff is a production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:45.200 For more and this months of other nutritious topics, visit 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:47.760 our home planet, how stuff Works dot com. And for 0:06:47.800 --> 0:06:49.960 more podcasts from my heart Radio visit they are heart 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:52.480 Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:53.159 favorite shows.