Often called the world's most expensive nut, the macadamia nut is a delicious treat with a fascinating history. Though its origins lie in Australia, the macadamia was brought to Hawaii in the 19th century and since then has become one of the state's signature crops, bringing in millions of dollars in revenue each year for growers. And then of course, you can't forget about the chocolate covered macadamia nuts. But have you ever stopped to think about why the macadamia nut industry in Hawaii has developed so much? Do you know how the macadamia got its name? And what about its history before it arrived in Hawaii? On this episode of Transmissions from Hawaii, we're answering all those questions plus many more.

Guests & Links

• Randy Paty of North Shore Macadamia Nut Company
  • North Shore Macadamia Nut Company Website
• Glenn Sako (Agricultural specialist with the Hawaii County Department of Research and Development)
  • Macadamia Nuts in Hawaii: History and Production by Gordon Shigeura & Hiroshi Ooka
• Dr. Catherine Nock
  • Wild Origins of Macadamia Domestication Identified Through Intraspecific Chloroplast Genome Sequencing by Catherine J. Nock, Craig M. Hardner, Juan D. Montenegro, Ainnatul A. Ahmad Termizi, Satomi Hayashi, Julia Playford, David Edwards and Jacqueline Batley
  • Most of the World’s Macadamias May Have Originated From a Single Australian Tree (Smithsonian.com)
• Ian McConachie
  • About Ian McConachie (Sun Coast Gold Macadamias Website)
  • Getting to the Root of Macadamias
  • Macadamia Conservation Trust
  • History (Macadamia Conservation Trust)
  • History of the Macadamia

Further Infformation

To learn more about Indigenous Australians and the Gubbi Gubbi people of Southeast Queensland, please see the links below.

• Gubbi Gubbi Dyungungoo
• Yugambeh Museum
• Minjungbal Aboriginal Cultural Centre

Special Thanks

• The Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foundation
• Bulu Yabun
• Macadamia Conservation Trust

Advertisers

• Hawaii SHIP
  • Hawaii SHIP Website

Credits

• Editing and sound design: Tony Vega
• Transcript: Milabeats.go
• Transmissions from Hawaii logo: fikrihidajat (Based on concept sketch by Tony Vega)
• Featured image: Shutterstock

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Transcript

You can view the PDF transcript of this episode here.