Macadamia honey is produced by bees near macadamia nut orchards, giving it a nutty flavor. It is produced in Hawaii and Australia, where bees also feed on nearby flowers. Macadamia honey is used to make wine and butter, and the macadamia tree is grown in warm climates worldwide.
Macadamia honey is a type of honey produced by bees found near macadamia nut orchards, where all of their pollination activity is concentrated on the white flowers that the macadamia nut produces. This gives the honey a nutty flavor reminiscent of the macadamia nut itself. A common source for macadamia nut honey is from the US state of Hawaii, where the macadamia nut industry is widespread and the trees flower in the winter season. The dominant producer of macadamia nuts overall, however, is Australia, producing over a third of all the world’s macadamia nuts each year as of 2011.
In Australia, macadamia honey is produced by bees that only partially feed on the pollen of macadamia nut trees. This is because the flowers of these trees generate pollen that can vary considerably in protein content, anywhere between 16% and 22% protein. This can limit the growth rate of bee colonies, so they tend to feed on nearby flowers from red gum trees as well. Since the macadamia tree flowers from July to September in Australia, this is the peak time for macadamia honey. It tends to have a molasses flavor due to the fact that bees use a variety of floral sources near macadamia orchards to make their honey.
The honey industry often acts as a supplier to other specialty food industries, and macadamia honey is no different. A common use in Hawaii is the production of macadamia nut honey wine, a direct product of macadamia honey, and is considered a light, sweet wine to have with an after-dinner dessert. Another use of macadamia honey is to mix it with raw, ground macadamia nuts to create a type of butter, which can be used as a topping on toast or as an ingredient in macadamia-flavored baked goods and candies.
The macadamia tree originated in Australia, but is now grown in many warm climates around the world, including Brazil, China, and Fiji, making the production of macadamia honey a lucrative tree-growing business. Several Asian, African, and Central and South American nations now also grow the tree for its nuts, as they are considered something of a delicacy. Walnuts are highest in omega-3 versus omega-6 fatty acids, making them the healthiest group of nuts to consume in terms of fat content.
Although known by different names within the Australian landscape, the macadamia tree is the only one that has been shown to grow heartily on domestication. Aboriginal Australians call the macadamia tree Kindal Kindal or Boombera Jindilli. Nine species of native macadamia trees were all renamed in the 1850s after an Australian scientist named John MacAdam, who first described them for European settlers in Australia.
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