Cracking macadamia nuts (with a C-clamp - sharing info)

Hi all,

thought I want to share this: After my sister in law told me that they
are much easier
to crack along the equators than along the poles (which I found is
true), I found that
when you get the occasional very hard to crack one (I got away from
using vise grips
and use a C-camp now), putting the handle down on the floor (you may
want to use
some layer of paper to not damage the floors) and pushing down on the
"C" of the
clamp will usually do it. You may have to turn it over and repeat.
Being one for
multi-use tools anyway, for me this most certainly beats all the high
priced and out of
stock macadamia nut crackers. As we probably still have a lot of
macadamia nuts
without buyers here on the Big Island, that's one way of cracking
them.

Aloha,
Maren

On Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:05:01 -0000, Maren at google
<m.purves@jach.hawaii.edu> wrote:

>
>Hi all,
>
>thought I want to share this: After my sister in law told me that they
>are much easier
>to crack along the equators than along the poles (which I found is
>true), I found that
>when you get the occasional very hard to crack one (I got away from
>using vise grips
>and use a C-camp now), putting the handle down on the floor (you may
>want to use
>some layer of paper to not damage the floors) and pushing down on the
>"C" of the
>clamp will usually do it. You may have to turn it over and repeat.
>Being one for
>multi-use tools anyway, for me this most certainly beats all the high
>priced and out of
>stock macadamia nut crackers. As we probably still have a lot of
>macadamia nuts
>without buyers here on the Big Island, that's one way of cracking
>them.
>
>Aloha,
>Maren

I used to use a bench vise. Worked great.

[just thought a tropic topic of macadamia nuts might be
appropriate]

On Mon, 18 Feb 2008, Maren at google wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> thought I want to share this: After my sister in law
> told me that they are much easier to crack along the
> equators than along the poles (which I found is
> true), I found that when you get the occasional very
> hard to crack one (I got away from using vise grips
> and use a C-camp now), putting the handle down on the
> floor (you may want to use some layer of paper to not
> damage the floors) and pushing down on the "C" of the
> clamp will usually do it. You may have to turn it
> over and repeat. Being one for multi-use tools
> anyway, for me this most certainly beats all the high
> priced and out of stock macadamia nut crackers. As we
> probably still have a lot of macadamia nuts without
> buyers here on the Big Island, that's one way of
> cracking them.
>
> Aloha, Maren

When I was a kid I broke the nut with a hammer. But
IIRC the nut doesn't taste too good when it's raw. I
would think that one of those pliers with compouded
handle might work better. The mechanical advantage of
the pliers is increase by the levers on the handles.
Don't know if you could get the pliers jaws wide enough
to engulf a macadamia nut. Definitely a vise or clamp
seems better.

On Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:35:06 -0000, Andy <1@2.3> wrote:

>
>On Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:05:01 -0000, Maren at google
><m.purves@jach.hawaii.edu> wrote:
>
>>
>
>>Aloha,
>>Maren
>
>I used to use a bench vise. Worked great.
>
There is a special macadamia "cracker" available at local farm &
garden stores- at least in Kona . I think it is called a "Guillotine"
but I could be wrong because I haven't bought one in a long time.

It cracks a macadamia nut perfectly every time. It doesn't damage the
kernel and can take any size nut. It is about a foot long and cost
about $30. Makes it very easy to do

Just ask at your local garden shop.

aloha,
beans
roast beans to kona to email
farmers of Pure Kona

On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:35:03 -0000, Maren at google
<m.purves@jach.hawaii.edu> wrote:

>
>On Feb 20, 7:55 am, be...@smithfarms.com wrote:
>> On Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:35:06 -0000, Andy <1...@2.3> wrote:
>>
>>> On Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:05:01 -0000, Maren at google
>>> <m.pur...@jach.hawaii.edu> wrote:
>>
>>>> Aloha,
>>>ut $30. Makes it very easy to do
>
>more like $45.- ...

Yes maybe it is $45 now, but you get perfect kernels every time and it
is not a major procedure like hooking up a c-clamp in your house:).

aloha,
beans
>

>Maren
roast beans to kona to email
farmers of Pure Kona

On Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:35:03 -0000, "Alvin E. Toda" <aet@lava.net>
wrote:

>
>On Mon, 25 Feb 2008, Maren at google wrote:
>
>For some people a good part of their livelihood just
>> plain disappeared. You bet it's upsetting.
>
>This is a complete waste. Sometimes I wonder that small
>farmers don't try to change their crop when it becomes
>obvious that the profit will be too small. Small
>business should be able to turn on a dime, and when it
>is aware that large foreign plantations of macadamia
>nut trees will take over the market, they don't try
>another strategy. The strength of our economy lies in
>strong small businesses that can adapt in this way.
>Or is this just a myth?
Macadamia nut trees take about 8 years to bear. They are large- 40
feet- trees. You can't just rip them out and plant something else
without huge costs!

Coffee is often interplanted under Macadamia nut trees.

It is not as easy as shuffling two pieces of paper as one could do in
a small office-type business.

aloha,
beans
roast beans to kona to email
farmers of Pure Kona

On Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:30:01 -0000, Maren at google
<m.purves@jach.hawaii.edu> wrote:

>
> On Feb 24, 8:35 pm, "Alvin E. Toda" <a...@lava.net> wrote:
>
>> Anyway to the customer, it seems to be about the same.
>> In both Kona and Mauna Loa Macadamia, customers
>> recognize the product. There is a lot of value in
>> either designation.
>
> Mauna Loa Macadamia was for a long time almost synonymous
> with Hawaii macadamia nuts, but that is no more. For the time
> being, I guess we'll all have to read the labels.
>

Always read labels:)

aloha,
Cea
roast beans to kona to email
farmers of Pure Kona

On Mon, 25 Feb 2008, Maren at google wrote:

> But 100% Kona Coffee will always come from the same
> area whereas Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts will now not
> have anything to do with Hawaii anymore. They're just
> taking the label elsewhere. Kona Coffee is defined in
> the Hawaii Revised Statutes for all I remember. While
> the Statutes could of course be revised, I sure hope
> that isn't going to happen. I also hope that other
> areas in Hawaii that grow coffee will get similar
> delineations. Not that any other area will get the
> fame Kona has now any time soon, but I'm sure coffee
> farmers in other areas here would like the same area
> protection, like Kauai coffee, Ka'u coffee, Puna
> coffee, Hilo coffee (there's more to Hilo than just
> Hilo town) and Hamakua coffee.
>
> Mauna Loa Macadamia was for a long time almost
> synonymous with Hawaii macadamia nuts, but that is no
> more. For the time being, I guess we'll all have to
> read the labels.

That's the problem with a brand name. Once you sell it
than you lose control. Re. other locations for
coffee... that's probably going to depend on it's
quality. If it's good enough to be copied like Kona
coffee, then it's probably good enough to be protected
in the market.

On Mon, 25 Feb 2008, beans@smithfarms.com wrote:

> Macadamia nut trees take about 8 years to bear.
> They are large- 40 feet- trees. You can't just rip
> them out and plant something else without huge costs!
>
> Coffee is often interplanted under Macadamia nut
> trees.
>
> It is not as easy as shuffling two pieces of paper as
> one could do in a small office-type business.

Of course not. But as you suggest they can plant some
coffee with the nuts. I don't every recall seeing 40 ft
Macadamia trees, but if they have such a large volume
of trees than they may want to salvage the production
by say retailing the nuts-- ie packaging their own
brand and cutting out the middleman. It would make a
nice sourvenir for visitors.

In Honolulu, the state provides low cost kitchens for
example, that small business can use to prepare stuff
for sale. Any kind of planning-- even selling out to
someone with ideas-- would avert the disaster of a
complete loss of the crop. It's not like they have a
natural disaster and lose the crop. What's happening is
that they wait for disaster to happen.

On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:30:02 -0000, "Alvin E. Toda" <aet@lava.net>
wrote:

>
> On Mon, 25 Feb 2008, beans@smithfarms.com wrote:
>

> Of course not. But as you suggest they can plant some
> coffee with the nuts. I don't every recall seeing 40 ft
> Macadamia trees, but if they have such a large volume
> of trees than they may want to salvage the production
> by say retailing the nuts-- ie packaging their own
> brand and cutting out the middleman. It would make a
> nice sourvenir for visitors.
>
> In Honolulu, the state provides low cost kitchens for
> example, that small business can use to prepare stuff
> for sale. Any kind of planning-- even selling out to
> someone with ideas-- would avert the disaster of a
> complete loss of the crop. It's not like they have a
> natural disaster and lose the crop. What's happening is
> that they wait for disaster to happen.
Trust me that our Macadamia nut trees grow to 40 feet. maybe sickly
ones do not. There are many varieties.

Your suggestion of selling nuts at the airport is already in place. In
the Kona Wal-Mart too. Just not too cost effective for a real farmer
who needs income from acres of Macadamias to survive.

aloha,
beans
roast beans to kona to email
farmers of Pure Kona