The most expensive nut in the world

Luxury has many facets. For example, someone buys the most expensive cars, someone gets the best jewelry, some pamper themselves with luxurious outfits, and others - exclusive travel. And there are gourmets, whose goal is to try all the most unusual and expensive dishes in the world. Fans of gastronomic delights must definitely try macadamia - the most expensive nut in the world.

Botanical description

Macadamia is an Australian walnut or a Kindal. The first plant was described by the German scientist Ferdinand Müller, who spent most of his life studying Australia. The botanist found on a very small continent an unknown plant, which the aborigines called mullimbimbi or Kindal-Kindal. F. Muller described an amazing nut and named it "macadamia" in honor of his friend and fellow chemist J. Macadam. Soon this name was consolidated everywhere.

This dicotyledonous plant belongs to the family of Proteaceae, the genus includes 5 species, only 2 of them are cultivated. Prefers weakly acid soils, well drained and rich in organic. The tree grows to a height of up to 15 meters. The leaves of the plant are very large, leathery to the touch. Blooms in small white, cream or pink flowers, which are collected on a long drooping inflorescence, reminiscent of a corn cob. During flowering, the trees emit a very delicate, slightly sweetish flavor.

Fruiting the most expensive walnut begins at the age of 8-10, but stops at the age of 100 years. Fruits of the plant - small nuts only 1,5-2 centimeters in diameter, have an almost perfect spherical shape. Ripen from March to September.

Natural pollinators of macadamia are bees, which also make of flower nectar wonderful honey - fragrant and useful.

Chemical composition

Let's continue to tell about the most expensive nuts. Macadamia has a unique chemical composition:

• Fats are polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and saturated, up to 75 grams per 100 grams of product. At the same time, the caloric content of nuts is 200 kcal.
• Carbohydrates - 14 grams per 100 grams of the product.
• Proteins - 7.9 g per 100 g of product, including 12 essential amino acids (arginine, valine, leucine, lysine, tryptophan and others) and 8 substitutable (alanine, glycine, aspartic acid, serine, etc.).
• Vitamins: tocopherol, group B, folates, niacin, ascorbic acid and some others.
• Macro and trace elements: zinc, iron, selenium, sodium, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, etc.

The presence of essential oil, rich in vitamins B and PP, significantly increases the value of macadamia.

Benefit and harm

These most expensive nuts, photos of which are in the article, are very useful:

• Improve the work of the cardiovascular system.
• Clean the blood vessels from cholesterol plaques.
• Promotes weight normalization.
• Improve the condition of the skin, nails and hair.
• They are a powerful oncoprotectant.
• Normalize the sugar in the blood.
• The oil promotes rapid regeneration of the skin, heals wounds.

However, the most expensive nut can not be eaten by those who are allergic to hazelnuts and peanuts.

Where it grows, how it is mined

The birthplace of macadamia is Australia. Aborigines considered this nut sacred. Until the beginning of the 20th century this plant was not found anywhere else on the planet. When Europeans began to master the continent, then almost the only currency when trading with the local population was this unusual fruit.

Today this plant is successfully cultivated in tropical latitudes - in Brazil, South Africa, California, Hawaii. Interestingly, Hawaiian plantations already occupy an area of about 100 square meters.

The tree is unpretentious, grows in lowlands and on high ground at an altitude of up to 750 meters above sea level. Well tolerates temperature changes, does not die even at extreme temperatures for the tropics +3 ... + 5 degrees Celsius. However, strong winds blowing from the ocean are not well tolerated.

Previously, these nuts were collected manually. But given the height of the tree and the fact that the fruits are very strong on the branches, one worker could collect 120-150 kilograms of fruit per day. In the middle of the 20th century, a machine was invented, the productivity of which amounted to 3 tons of harvest per day! Thanks to this, the production of macadamia has significantly expanded.

Where to use

The most expensive nut in the world (macadamia) is widely used in cooking. Fruits taste like hazelnut and hazelnuts, but they have a special sweetish aftertaste. Large whole nuts roast, sprinkle with salt or pour glaze, chocolate. This delicacy itself is very tasty, but connoisseurs say that macadamia should be consumed with sherry - Spanish fortified wine from white grapes that reveals and emphasizes the taste of the nut, or with Arabic coffee.

Small or crushed nucleoli are added to salads, seafood dishes. Also, they are pressed by oil, which is a very valuable dietary product.

Macadamia is used in medicine. From these nuts are made medicines for osteoporosis and arthritis, hypovitaminosis, tonsillitis, as well as a means for slowing the growth of tumors, cleaning the body of toxins, removing "harmful" cholesterol. Macadamia oil is used to treat burns.

Nutritionists are advised to use this most expensive nut when losing weight, as it normalizes fat metabolism and metabolism in the body. To lose up to 7-10 kilograms per month, it is enough to eat 10-12 nucleoli a day instead of one meal.

The most expensive nut will return youth and beauty

The uniqueness of the nut lies in the fact that it contains monounsaturated palmitoleic acid, which is present in human skin, but practically does not occur in other plants. Another feature: vegetable fat macadamia in composition and properties is very similar to fat mink. It has powerful antioxidant properties.

For these characteristics, the most expensive walnut is highly valued by beauticians. Macadamia oil is used in the production of elite products for skin rejuvenation.

Crushed kernels are advised to use in home cosmetology for the preparation of face masks. Walnut oil can be rubbed into the scalp for growth and healthy hair.

The cost of a nut

How much is the most expensive nut in the world? Even in his homeland, in Australia, where 80% of macadamia is produced, a kilogram of unpurified fruit costs $ 30-35. The wholesale price of walnut in Europe reaches $ 150 per kilogram, depending on the grade of the product.

Why are the fruits of macadamia so expensive? First, the unique composition and amazing properties of this nut are highly valued. Secondly, because of difficulties in harvesting. Thirdly, because of the limited production: if peanuts are harvested 50 million tons a year, then the macadamia is only 100,000 tons, that is, 500 times less!

The most expensive nuts in the world: top-10

If you compile a list of the most expensive nuts in the world, then for Russians it will look like this:

• 10th place - walnut. The price is 3 dollars / kg.
• 9th place - hazelnuts. This useful treat costs an average of $ 5 per kilogram.
• 8th place - Brazil nut. We like many for their usefulness and original taste. The price is 6 dollars / kg.
• 7th place is chestnut. This nut is widely used in medicine for the treatment of various diseases of veins and costs $ 7 per kg.
• 6th place - almonds, 8-8.5 dollars per kg of product. Especially high in cooking and perfumery is appreciated bitter almonds, which has a rich flavor.
• 5th place - cedar. This is a delicacy nut, which is found in cedar cones - the fruits of Siberian pine. A kilogram of these nuts costs 10 dollars.
• 4 place - cashews. The price per kilogram is within 12 dollars.

Now let's describe the top three leaders. In third place in price are pistachios, the cost of which ranges from $ 15 per kilogram of goods. The first many millennia ago they were cultivated by Persia and Ancient Greece. Today pistachios are the favorite delicacy of millions of people, and in China the fruits are called "happy nuts". In addition to the wonderful taste, they have a whole list of useful properties.

The second place is taken by pecan, a nut originally from North America. It is a universal product: it is used for cooking any dishes, including salads, desserts, baked goods. Very delicious are the liqueurs, infused on the kernels of this nut. For a kilo you have to pay up to 22 dollars. After macadamia, these are the most expensive nuts in Russia.

The gold medal, of course, belongs to the Macadamia, which the article describes in detail.

What nuts are growing in Russia

In Russia they collect peanuts, hazel, pine nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts. About some of them it was said above, now we will tell a little about the Greek.

Do you know that to all of us the usual walnut, which grows in the southern regions of Russia and resembles the human brain in shape, is the most useful in the world? Our ancestors knew about this and successfully used it in the treatment of various diseases - angina, intestinal disorders, stomatitis, dermatitis. It is believed that if every day to eat a few walnuts, the body will get stronger, fill with energy and strength, memory will improve, the mind will brighten, the diseases will recede.

What is the most expensive nut, you know, and which is the cheapest one? This is peanuts or peanuts (an average of 1.5 dollars per kilogram of product). However, its value can not be denied for both the food industry and the chemical industry.

Now you know that the most expensive nuts are macadamia, pecans and pistachios. The most useful and at the same time inexpensive - a walnut. The least expensive is peanuts.