Brazil Nuts

Brazil nuts, also called cream nuts and para nuts, are large shelled seeds of the Brazil Nut tree. It is a giant green evergreen tree indigenous to the Amazon forest of South America. The tree may reach a height of 100 to 150 feet with a trunk diameter of four to eight feet. The crown of the tree spreads to a width of 100 feet or more and towers over the rest of the forest. The leaves are dark green about 12 inches long and 6 inches wide. The flowers are pale yellow and the spherical brown fruits are four to six inches in diameter and take about fourteen months to mature. They resemble large coconuts and weigh two to four pounds each. Inside each of these fruits are about twenty four Brazil nuts. Brazil nuts mostly grow in Brazil but there are also some trees in Bolivia, Peru, Columbia and Venezuela. A mature healthy tree can produce between 250 and 500 pounds of unshelled nuts per year.

One of the earliest historical records for the Brazil Nut was made in 1569 by Juan Alvarez Maldonado, a Spanish colonial official while exploring southeastern Peru. Later in 1633 Dutch traders in Brazil found these wild nuts and shipped them back to the Netherlands. The earliest shipment to the United States occurred in 1810 when a small lot was sent to New York from Brazil along with rubber, cocoa and cashews. However, the first official United States custom entry of Brazil nuts was not recorded until 1873.

Brazil nuts are eaten raw, roasted, salted and in ice cream as well as used in baking and candy making. Brazil nuts contain a large percentage of fat and will quickly become rancid when exposed to air and heat. If they are properly dried and stored and kept in a cool dark place they will keep for months.

Brazil nuts to be shelled are normally soaked in water for 24 hours and then boiled for 5 minutes to soften the shell. The kernels are then graded and sorted. Besides being used as a food source the shells and spoiled kernels are also used as a fuel supplement for power plants. Their oil can also be extracted for a cooking oil and the residue left from the defatted and crushed seeds can be used to supplement animal feed.

TIPS ON SHELLING:

Cover unshelled nuts with boiling salted water and boil gently for 3 minutes. Drain and cool and then crack and quickly remove shells. Unshelled nuts may also be roasted. Place in single layer on baking sheets in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Cool, crack and shell.

BLANCHING BRAZIL NUTS;

To removed the brown skin, cover 1 pound of nuts with 1 quart of water, Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of sodium bicarbonate and simmer for two minutes. Remove skins while still warm.

SLICING BRAZIL NUTS:

To slice Brazil nuts cover with cold water and slowly bring to a boil. simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Slice nuts while still warm.