Hello!

We’ve got a huge macadamia tree in our front yard, and it’s got enough nuts on it (and falling off it) to feed an army. My problem is that I’ve tried everything I can think of to try and crack the shells (they’ve got incredibly hard outer & inner shells) and nothing has worked. I tried a normal nutcracker, then tried hitting them with a hammer, and I nearly injured the dog when one of the macadamias shot off the table with great speed and force. Exit one dog running up the hallway, barking in pain. The only other thing I can think of is to get a small vice to hold each nut & try and crack them that way. This would be a very tedious and time-consuming way to do it, and I’m sure there has to be an easier way. Can any Mums help me with advice on how to crack these very tasty but incredibly difficult nuts?


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  • I’d tap them with a hammer.


  • At harvest, moisture content of the nuts is approximately 30% and the kernel fills the entire shell, but after about 3 weeks of drying this is reduced to around 1.5% and the kernel shrinks away from the shell. The shell can then be cracked without damaging the kernel and nut-in-shell storage life is prolonged.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtVr1-DZ2bU


  • i don’t eat until the outer shell has come off just leaving the inner one. i usually crack mine with a hammer in a round indent in the concrete under my deck


  • I have several nut crackers. One looks like a pot with a lid and you screw down the nut between 2 plates, that way you can’t hurt yourself. I would also try to roast them first in the oven and then try to pop them.


  • Thank you for putting some humour into your question! As a kid I used to eat the ones that cracked open naturally under the tree.. if you roast them in the oven will they pop open?


  • you need a special screw down clamp thingy


  • I usually find a crack in the cement and put the nut in there and then use a hammer. lol. but maybe try wrapping them in a cloth and then hitting them with a hammer.


  • There is no easy way to crack a macadamia nut. A vice is the best way to do them. Just make sure you put them in the vice sideways (stem bit in sideways) and not crack too hard otherwise they crush rather than crack the shell.


  • I hope find something suitable. Hubby wraps a tea towel over the nuts and bashes the life out of them with a hammer. How’s your dog?


  • I hope you find one soon because they are such a delicious nut


  • Macadamia nut cracker sounds great


  • can you roast them in the oven for a bit to try and make the shell a little brittle then try the nutcracker or hammer?


  • Lol for the dog! Found this on wiki – might help:
    http://www.wikihow.com/Crack-Macadamia-Nuts


  • I’ve found a special Macadamia nut cracker on eBay for $18 (postage included), so I’ve ordered it. Can’t wait to try it, because we’ll have kilos of the nuts, and hopefully will be able to enjoy them instead of throwing them out.


  • I used to use a hammer, but I do believe there is a special tool for cracking them these days, check on ebay maybe


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