Java Almond

The Java almond tree is a large, resin-producing rainforest species that can exceed thirty meters in height, with big compound leaves and clusters of small flowers. The fruit is an oval, purple to black drupe a few centimeters long, with a thin layer of flesh around a very hard, three-sided stone.

Inside the stone, usually in one to three compartments, are slim, ivory-colored kernels with a thin brown skin. The flavor is mild, sweet and oily, often compared to a blend of almond and Brazil nut, and the texture is crisp when roasted.

Whole stones, cracked kernels and roasted nuts are sold in markets in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Indonesia, and the nut is occasionally exported.

Canarium indicum is native to the Moluccas, New Guinea and neighboring Melanesian islands, where it grows in lowland forest and is also managed in village gardens. People have spread it through the Pacific and parts of Southeast Asia over centuries, though its exact natural range is hard to separate from cultivation.

Kenari is the Indonesian and Malay name and gives rise to the genus name Canarium. In Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, names such as galip and ngali are used in local languages and in Tok Pisin. The name Java almond is a trade name and, as with the Indian almond, reflects the nut's similarity to a true almond rather than any botanical relationship.

For Melanesian communities, canarium nut trees are ancient and valued. Archaeological evidence from the region suggests that people harvested and managed Canarium nuts for thousands of years, and the trees were planted near villages and protected in gardens as long-lived family property, often inherited across generations.

The nuts were traditionally eaten fresh, roasted in ashes or cooked in puddings with taro and other root crops. They were also traded between coastal and inland communities, and kernels were sometimes pressed for oil used in food and for anointing the body. The resin of the tree had its own uses, including for torches and as a sealant.

In the twentieth century, development projects in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands promoted canarium nut as a cash crop, and small factories began to crack, roast and package the nuts for sale. Research stations selected high-yielding trees and tested better cracking methods, since the very hard shell is one of the main obstacles to wider commercial production.

The kernels are eaten raw or roasted, and used in confectionery, cakes, ice cream, and savory dishes in place of almonds or cashews. In village cooking they are pounded into pastes and mixed with vegetables or starchy foods.

Oil pressed from the kernels is used in cooking and, in some places, as a skin and hair dressing. The tree resin, known as elemi in the genus, is collected for use as incense, as torches, and traditionally in medicine.

The tree also provides shade and timber and is retained in agroforestry gardens, where it is intercropped with food crops.

Canarium nuts are energy-dense, rich in fat, mostly unsaturated, and supply some protein, fiber and minerals such as magnesium and potassium. There is little clinical research on Java almond specifically, so health claims should be viewed carefully. As with other tree nuts, a modest handful can fit into a balanced diet, but nutrient values differ among species and varieties, so exact figures are not given here.