The internet is full of fabulous facts about everything from current events to the history basket weaving. Because of this, as we research for our daily content on food trucks, food carts and street food, we stumble upon some items of knowledge that we just did not know. We have decided when these fun facts pop up, that we would share them with our readers in our section titled “Did You Know?”

For today’s Did You Know fun food facts we will look at Macadamia Nuts.

The Facts: Macadamia nuts are native to Australia. They are named for John Macadam, a Scottish born physician and chemist who promoted the nuts cultivation in Australia.

• The Macadamia was introduced into Hawaii around 1881 and used as an ornamental. The first commercial orchards of macadamias in Hawaii were not planted until 1921.
• Most of the world’s macadamia nuts are grown on the island of Hawaii.
• September 4^th is National Macadamia Nut Day.
• Macadamia nuts are not picked from the tree but are fully ripened when they fall and are then harvested.
• Tough nut to crack: it takes 300 lbs. per square inch to break the macadamia nut shell, hardest of all nut shells.
• U.S. is the largest consumer (51%) with Japan following at 15%.
• Macadamia nuts are high in monounsaturated fatty acid (“good” fat) and have been demonstrated to help reduce overall cholesterol levels.
• Nuts are high in minerals and protein and are part of a healthy diet.