Brazil Nuts - Castanha-do-Pará

This nut comes from an enormously tall tree that can reach up to 45 metres in height, so the only way to harvest the nuts is to wait for the fruit to fall. These fruits are quite large, about the size of a melon, and each one contains between 10 and 25 nuts. The oblong nut is the part we eat and cook with, and it has a crunchy yellowish kernel with a very thin brown skin. Brazil nuts are so rich in protein that only 2 nuts are the equivalent of eating an egg. You can use the Brazil nut in a variety of recipes the way you use almonds or hazelnuts. Store them in the refrigerator or the freezer inside a ziplock bag.