When the first humans arrived in Hawaii, edible nutritional kernels, or nuts, were hard to find. About the only native nut was the mahoe, or Alectron macrococculus. They brought with them the coconut and the kukui nut. Technically, the coconut is not a true nut, and although kukui nut is edible, it can create serious stomach issues when eaten. So, in the arena of foods and nutrition, true nuts were lacking.
When the first humans arrived in Hawaii, edible nutritional kernels, or nuts, were hard to find. About the only native nut was the mahoe, or Alectron macrococculus. They brought with them the coconut and the kukui nut. Technically, the coconut is not a true nut, and although kukui nut is edible, it can create serious stomach issues when eaten. So, in the arena of foods and nutrition, true nuts were lacking.
In the mid-20th century, University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture researchers scoured the tropical world for nut crops that might adapt to some of Hawaii’s diverse climates. Many nut-bearing species such as almonds and cashews were introduced but none really found popularity like the Australian macadamia nut. Researchers developed many superior varieties and it wasn’t long before farmers began growing them commercially. Today, when folks think macadamia, they think Hawaii since the best varieties were promoted as Hawaiian macadamias even though they now are grown in parts of Africa, tropical America and Australia.
According to Randyl Rupar with Sanctuary of Mauna Kea Gardens, this Sunday, Nov. 1, Hawaii Island is celebrating the success of macadamias at the Sheraton Convention Center. The event is open and free to the public from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. with live music and entertainment. From 5-8 p.m. there will be a benefit concert for the Voice of Kona Community Radio, Kona 100.5 FM.
The “Going Nuts For The Holidays Festival” is an opportunity for our community to network with local artists, wood craftsmen, farmers and artisan nutty food folks while enjoying live Hawaiian cultural entertainment. For other details, contact the organizers at 936-5233 or kona1005.org.
In the meantime, let’s visit some of the other nuts with potential here.
When was the last time you had pili nut pie or pili nut brittle or pili nut cookies? Unless you lived in the Philippines, it’s probably been never. How about tropical almond cookies? Again, we don’t see them here, but tropical almond confections are popular in Haiti and other parts of the Caribbean. The tropical almond, false kamani or Terminalia catappa originally are from the East Indies but now found all over coastal regions of the tropical Pacific.
We are fortunate here in Hawaii to have a large Filipino population that brought a lot of flavor to our multicultural mix. It is surprising more of the fruits and nuts popular in the Philippines are not mainstream here.
For example, one of the tastiest nuts found in Manila is the pili. The pili nut, Canarium ovatum, is native to the Philippines and is the most important of about 10 nut-bearing species. The tree reaches an ultimate height of about 60 feet. Leaves are compound like the African tulip. Flowers are yellow, fragrant and form in terminal clusters. Male and female flowers are born on separate trees, so two trees of opposite sexes are required to produce nuts on the female tree. The oblong greenish fruits are black when ripe and almost 2.5 to 3 inches long. The nut can be eaten raw or roasted and some consider it superior to the almond. My favorite recipe is the same as making peanut brittle, substituting pili nuts for peanut.
In the Philippines, the kernel is made into several products, including plain roasted nuts, sugar coated nuts, pudding and pili nut butter. They are great in nut chocolates and are a source of good cooking oil. The shell is an excellent source of fuel and also used as a planting medium. In Indonesia, the shells are made into ornaments. Resin can be tapped from the tree as with the rubber tree. It is used in perfumes, adhesives, plastics, printing inks, paint, varnish and many other products.
The UH Waiakea Experiment Station has been studying pili production for years and found it to grow very well in the Hilo region. It is a tropical tree. At this time, it appears the best growing areas would be below 1,300 feet, protected from strong winds and given irrigation where rainfall is less than 50 well-distributed inches per year.
The limiting factor in growing pili trees is availability of plants. Most trees in Hawaii and the Philippines are grown from seed. Grafting and budding are difficult. Air layering has limited success. Since the university has a number of trees, it would be possible to obtain seed by contacting our UHCTAR Agricultural Extension office. Seeds are not always available, but can be obtained when ready.
The university also has information about orchard establishment. Although pili can be grown in a standard orchard layout, it also lends itself to growing under natural forest conditions as is done in the Philippines. Since significant yields do not occur until the 10th year, intercropping is desirable. This can fit in well with multicrop, sustainable agriculture systems.
Some nurseries are beginning to carry pili nut plants, especially on the Hilo side, so you might check with your favorite nurseries and garden supply stores.
This information is supplied as a service of the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.