All our macadamias coming home to roost

It takes 7–10 years before macadamia trees start producing commercial quantities of nuts, and in the next while all of those plantations put in by ‘tree changers’ since the GFC will start to bear nuts. Currently, macadamias only represent around 2% of the global tree nut meat market and growers want to trade on this relative rarity and ensure the product retains a premium status.

Growers also want to avoid falling prices caused by oversupply and to this end the Australian Macadamia Industry Marketing Program has launched a three-year project to get macadamias on the innovation agenda with food manufacturers around the globe.

The association wants to inspire food manufacturers to include more macadamias in their innovation pipelines and so increase demand for the nuts.

The Australian Macadamias Innovation Challenge invited product developers to submit creative concepts including macadamias in new packaged food products in three categories: bakery, snack and snack mixes, and ice-cream, and within two cuisine profiles: Asian or Western.

Product finalists included:

• Macci Ice Cream by Ashna Gobin and Leonardo Bohorquez
• Golden Organic Macadamia Bagel by Andrew Dong and Sarah Dawes
• Macadamia Infused Brioche Delight by Hung Hsin Ke and Han Chung
• Macadamia Myrtle Balls by Sarah Boykett and Natasha Lane
• Macadamia Yoghurt Tropo-pops by Jade Gibbons
• Twisted Macadamia Coconut Fro-Yo by Cassandra Spies
• Macadamia Mind Food Bars by Adeline Wong (professional)
• Matcha-damia Cranberry Health Muffins by Pridhuvi Thavaraj
• Macadamia and Miso Caramel Cookies by Kinga Wojciechowski
• Matchadamia Berry Balls by Evie Crowe

Did you know that South Africa produces more macadamias than Australia, even though the nuts are indigenous to Australia? (A bit like how South Africa produces more eucalyptus oil than Australia.) But recent droughts in South Africa have reduced their harvest somewhat.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/karepa