Brazil Nuts

Brazil nuts are harvested from wild trees in the pristine forests of South America. Attempts at cultivation have failed due to the special relationship between the brazil nut tree and certain kinds of bee, and an orchid which attracts them. The trees, which can grow up to 50m tall and live for 500 years or more, produce mature fruit as hard shelled pods 14 months after pollination. One individual fruit can weigh up to 2 kg, and contains between 10 and 25 seeds, arranged like the segments of an orange. These seeds are what we call brazil nuts although they are not true nuts in the botanical sense.

Brazil nuts are imported with their shells removed due to the presence of toxins in the shell. The flesh can be very high in selenium, although it varies in amount from nut to nut. They are also a good source of magnesium, phosphorus, copper and thiamine.