Tips for cooking with Macadamias
While there are many macadamia recipes, remember that macadamia nuts can be substituted for other nuts measure for measure in most recipes and often result in a creamier, richer and tastier end product. Some recipes call for ground macadamia nuts. Simply put whole macadamias in a food processor on pulse until the desired consistency is achieved.
Macadamia Nut Butter – Delicious and easy to make using either roasted or raw macadamia kernel. Blend in the food processor for either a crunchy nut butter or a nice smooth creamy texture. Add a bit of honey or softened chocolate buttons for a delicious sweet spread or add salt and or spices for a delicious savoury spread or use as a sauce base. Macadamias are 70% oil and do not need oil added for making nut butter.
Macadamia Nut Cheese and Macadamia Milk -Macadamias are wonderful healthy substitutes for gluten and dairy intolerant consumers. Little Bird Organics uses Torere Macadamias organic macadamias to produce a range of delicious treats including Nut cheeses and Nut milks for their customers. Recipes are currently been trialled before being put on our webpage – so watch this page!
Ground macadamia nuts can be used for delicious dukkah dishes, crumb mix coatings for fish, meat, etc and as a filler and flavor enhancer in ground meat, poultry, in soups and healthy smoothies. Ground macadamia nuts in pastry dough or sprinkled on the bottom of pie shells is a fantastic way to enhance the taste.
Roasting nuts before adding to the recipe further enhances the nutty flavours, but remember to let roasted nuts cool down before grinding or chopping to prevent them from becoming oily or pasty in texture. To roast them, spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 180˚C until golden in colour, which should take about 12 to 15 minutes.
It’s best to roast only what you need at the time as the excess roasted nuts will need to be kept in an airtight container as they do not store as well as raw nuts.
Macadamia nuts pair particularly well with coconut, chocolate, fish and wine.
