Nutrition Moment: Candlenuts/Kemiri Nuts

markemorse

Hi all,

Here's hoping that a nutrition question or two on this board isn't out of place (I'm asking here because no one on any strictly nutrition-oriented forums has any idea what candlenuts are...) Maybe if I link to a recipe that uses candlenuts:

http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/asia/indonesian/00/rec0035.html

and ask for an Ikan Bumbu Bali recipe, that'll offset the scientific portion...

Anyway, the question: does anyone have any idea what the saturated fat content of candlenuts are? I know that their oil content is so high that you can actually light the nuts themselves on fire (hence the name), and that they're a great source of Omega-3. But, I can't find any data on their saturated fat content.

thanks,
mark

Dairy_Queen · Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 4:38 pm Post subject:

"...a small piece of trassi (firm paste of
rotted shrimp) Shocked

Sorry, I think I'll pass on this recipe! Wink

markemorse: If candlenuts are as fatty as macadamia, than they should contain about 2-3 g of saturated fat.

Here's a wonderful 'nut' link: candlenuts are listed near the bottom, alphabetically, under Nut Types.

http://www.baking911.com/pantry/nuts_seeds.htm

Oh, you probably know this but candlenuts are poisonous if eaten raw!

markemorse · Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 5:35 pm Post subject:

thanks, dairy queen...actually trassi should probably be lumped in with that whole asian cast of characters made from production methods that are best not thought about while eating (nam pla in thai, nuoc mam in vietnamese). it's (not surprisingly) an "acquired taste". but like most acquired tastes, once you've acquired it, you're hooked.

re macadamias: the amount of oil they have is comparable, but i'm more interested in the composition. this thingie from the FDA singles out some nuts as having too much sat fat to be healthy:

http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~ffh/regulatory%20news_oct2003.html

and it includes unlikely suspects such as cashews and pine nuts. so, since i'm surrounded by indo/malay food here, i'm just trying to figure out if i can just skip the coconut milk dishes, or if kemiri nut dishes are out as well.

and thanks for the toxicity warning...I knew, but probably good to mention on this thread.

thanks again for yr help!
mark