Candlenut

Candlenuts come from the tree Aleurites moluccana. They play a big role in Indonesia cookery, where the roasted and ground nuts are cooked with other ingredients to make a frequently used seasoning paste. A whole candlenut is round, about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter, with a very hard shell that is covered by a papery brown skin. The unshelled nuts bear some resemblance to walnuts and are thus sometimes referred to as Indian or Tahitian walnuts. The edible portion inside can be made up of either one or two kernels. Candlenuts contain a toxin that makes them inedible raw. The typical method of preparation is to roast the whole nuts until the shells crack open, then extract the kernels. The kernels are then cooked further before they become pleasant to eat. Because the nuts contain so much oil, they were, at one time, used to make candles, hence the name.