Brazil

Brazil Nut

Few edibles manage to combine crunchiness and creaminess, terms that aptly apply to the sensation of eating a Brazil nut. Lightly sweet and earthy, it satisfies the munchies without sticking in the throat like popcorn kernels. That’s partly because the Brazil is chock-full of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, which just happen to promote heart health, too. It’s also the single most important food source of selenium, essential to hormonal balance, a strong immune system, thyroid and kidney function. The selenium and ellagic acid in Brazil nuts may also play a protective role in brain health.

That’s quite a claim for something as yummy and texturally intriguing as the Brazil nut. It’s great for snacks, whether gobbled raw, salted or roasted. Chopped Brazils lend a happy crunch to salads and make tasty toppings for puddings and custards. Consider turning that dessert formula upside down, literally, by pressing the finely chopped nuts into a pie crust. Brazil nuts also give fruit smoothies gravitas, along with a jolt of protein.

By consuming these nuts, you’re indirectly helping the environment, because the lucrative harvest—taken almost exclusively from wild Bertholletia excelsa trees in the endangered Amazonian rainforest—provides a strong economic counter-incentive to logging. Even better, the harvest plays out non-invasively, as collectors wait until the hefty seed pods drop to the forest floor, from heights of up to 160 feet. Long a protein-rich staple of indigenous Amazonian diets, the nut came to the attention of Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the second half of the 16th century. Another century passed, however, before a European market developed, thanks to the hustle of some Dutch traders.

For wholesale buyers, we offer our raw Brazil nuts in bulk, in 44-pound cases, as well as 1- and 5-pound bags. Other types of Brazil nuts we offer, include: roasted, as well as, roasted and salted.