TweetBrazil nuts are the nuts of a large canopy tree, Bertholletia exclesa, found throughout much of the Amazon. All these well-known seeds are harvested from wild trees that grow deep in the pristine forest and represent the main source of income for the communities that harvest them.
Brazil nuts
are nuts that grow on tall tropical trees in the Amazon rainforest. They grow in large shells that look like coconuts.Inside the shell, you'll find Brazil nuts with an 8- to 12-inch shell. Those individual nuts are shelled, giving us the edible Brazil nut. Many forest communities rely on the collection and sale of nuts from Brazil as a vital and sustainable source of income, and sweet nuts provide protein and calories to tribal, rural and even urban Brazilians. Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa), also called Pará nut, the edible seed of a large South American tree (Lecythidaceae family) found in the Amazonian forests of Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador.
It is the pollinator's dependence on this orchid, which grows high in the canopy, but not on walnut trees in Brazil, that has made attempts to grow Brazil nuts on plantations almost impossible. Walnuts are harvested between December and March, the wet season, and during this time many people camp in the woods following well-established trails that lead from one tree to another. This, together with the process of collecting, peeling and shipping walnuts from Brazil, makes their cost a little higher. With some brands and types of Brazil nuts that aren't as fresh, they'll be darker and have an unpleasant taste or smell.
Brazil nuts are commonly eaten raw or blanched and are high in protein, dietary fiber, thiamine, selenium, copper, and magnesium. Pickers harvest walnuts from Brazil during the wet season (January-March), when most of the tree fruits have fallen to the forest floor. Brazil nuts can be found in most supermarkets in Great Britain, in dried fruit mixes, covered in chocolate or as a traditional Christmas gift.
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