Cookbook | Recipes | Ingredients | Nuts and Seeds

Candlenut - leaves and whole nut

The candlenut is a waxy nut from trees grown in the tropics right around the world. Other names for it include candleberry, Indian walnut, kemiri, and kuku'i nut.

It is used in some tropical cuisines, as well as having medicinal uses and as a source for oil. The flavour of the nut is said to be similar to the macadamia. It is mildly toxic when raw, and is also known for its laxative effect.

Candlenuts feature in the cuisines of Hawaii, Indonesia, and Malaysia. A popular use is as a sauce, where candelnuts are crushed to a paste in a mortar and pestle, often with garlic and either ginger or galangal, then simmered gently for up to an hour with coconut milk and spices.