Pili Nuts – Only in the Philippines

Posted By on February 5, 2012

It's More Fun in the Philippines
philippine-evolution.com




 

PILI NUTS

 

Native to the Philippines, the pili nut is abundant and grows wild in many southern provinces, including Luzon, Mindanao and Visayas.

 

Pili Nut Fruit with Skin

 Pili Nut Fruit

Photo from: marketmanila.com

 

When raw, the pili nut is said by many to resemble the flavor of roasted pumpkin or pepita seeds, and when roasted, the pili nut’s mild, nutty flavor and tender-crispy texture is superior to that of the common almond. A perfect example would be a cross between a macadamia nut and a marcona almond.

 

Pili Nut in Shells

Pili Nuts With Shells

Photo from: 88db.com

Besides from being eaten raw or roasted, pili nuts are also used in chocolate, ice cream, candies and baked goods as well.

 

Pili Nut Out of the Shell

Pili Nut Out of the Shell

 Photo from: marketmanila.com

The largest buyers of pili nuts outside of the Philippines are in Hong Kong and Taiwan. There the pili nut is one of the major ingredients in a famous Chinese dessert known as “moon cake“.

 Shelled Pili Nuts

Pili Nuts Shelled

Photo from: sulit.com.ph

Aside from being a treat for your taste buds, the pili nut is also a nutritional treat for your body. Nutritionally, the pili nut is high in calcium, phosphorus, and potassium, and rich in fats and protein.

 

Crispy Pili Nut

Crispy Pili Nut

 Photo from:  food.theplainjane.com

Pili nuts are also rich in oil. They yield a light yellow oil consisting mainly of oleic glycerides and palmitic acids (60:40 percent respectively), very similar to olive oil.

 

Salted Pili Nut

Salted Pili Nuts

 Photo from: tanglednoodle.blogspot.com

Unfortunately, unless you live in the Philippines, pili nuts can be extremely hard to find. With the extremely hard shell encasing the pili nut, most commercial plantations do not see the value of the nut. Therefore, most of the pili nut trees grow wild rather than in plantations, making the harvesting of the nut erratic and limited.

 

Pili Nuts Dipped in Caramelized Sugar

Pili Nut Dipped in Caramel

Photo from: asiafinest.com

As new breeds are being introduced with easier to access fruit and new devices are invented for the opening of the pili nut, the future of the pili nut definitely looks bright.

 

One downside: that wonderful, bountiful, nutritional oil that makes up the pili nut also causes it to spoil rather quickly. Any nuts found outside of the Philippines would more than likely already be preserved with salt or sugar.

 Pili Nut Brittle

 Pili Nut Brittle

 Photo from: marketmanila.com

 

 

Text Above From: zimbio.com

 

 

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY

 

Pili Nut Tree 

Pili Nut Tree

Photo from: nowpublic.com

Investing in Philippine pili nut trees might be an overlooked opportunity due to the lack of media exposure.

Philippines – February 1, 2010 – “One of the best Philippines investments might be the organic farms growing pili nuts; pili trees can give a harvest for up to 100 years” according to Will Irwin who is currently writing his next book ‘Additional Income for Expats in the Philippines’. It is viewed as a good alternative to the usually offered real estate investments like condotels and apartments. Projected ROI is expected to be higher also; pili nuts are one of the highest profit products exported from the Philippines.

 

Pili Nut Delicacies

Pili Nut Delicacies

Photo from: marketmanila.com

The basic idea boils down to the fact that the Philippines has all that is required to produce extremely high yields in agriculture; what is lacking is mostly the implementation of the latest know-how and technologies. Agro-business in general has created one of the richest people in this country.

 

Pili Nut Pastry Business

Pili Nut Pastries

Photo from: itdibiz.com

A group of ‘non-Filipinos’ have made a start with a 40 hectare organic pili nut farm. Technical know-how is provided by foreign experts, researchers from Philippine Universities and representatives of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Industry etc.

 

Pili Nut Tart

Pili Nut Tart Photo from: melovescooking.blogspot.com

 

They are looking for investors to expand their business and ultimately anyone would be allowed to invest in one hectare or more of the ‘farm’. This means that not only the ‘bigger players’ can make a profit but really any expat or retiree; this provides for a nice monthly supplemental income.

 

Chocolate Covered Pili Nuts

Chocolate Covered Pili Nuts

Photo from: shootfirsteatlater.com

The projects have full support of the Philippine Government because it’s ‘Green/Eco’ and brings development to rural areas; Eco-tourism included.

Pili nut trees (Canarium ovatum Engl.) are one of the most typhoon-resistant species and grow in tropical Asia and the Pacific. In the Philippines only the Bicol Region is known to provide a suitable soil and climate. Investors are aiming for the island Tablas (Romblon) because it is much less typhoon-effected. Pili nuts are mainly an export product.

Retirement Villages for Americans, Europeans and other nationals are already being build near the projected farms; the whole location is developing very fast meaning great appreciation of real estate prices (whether residential of agricultural land); also due to increasing (Eco-) tourism.

Local Filipino farmers are not negatively affected because most products are for export plus they benefit from the fact that the retirement villages and organic farms create jobs and provide non-profit support for them also.

Will Irwin is the author of several books about ‘Living in the Philippines’ for expats and retirees and is an appointed consultant for the ‘Organic Pili Nuts Farm Investment’ project. He can be contacted at http://www.sibonga.com/contact_us.htm.

 

 

 

 Text Above From: agribusinessweek.com

 

 

 

RECOMMENDED READINGS

 

Philippines InvestmentPhilippines Investment & Business Opportunities Yearbook (World Investment & Business Opportunities Library)  – Philippines Investment & Business Opportunities Yearbook (World Investment & Business Opportunities Library) GET YOUR COPY

 

 

 

 

Doing Business in the PhilippinesDoing Business And Investing in Philippines Guide (World Business, Investment and Government Library) – Strategic and practical information for conducting business and investing in the country. Business opportunities, regulations, contacts and more.  GET YOUR COPY

 

 

 

 

Business Guide to the PhilippinesBusiness Guide to the Philippines (Business Guide to Asia S.)  – The Business Guide to the Philippines, part of the Business Guide to Asia Series, provides detailed information on setting up and running business ventures in the Philippines.
All contributors are experts and specialists in their fields, providing you with an unparalleled wealth of insider knowledge. Each chapter is packed with the kind of information and advice usually available only to elite clients with large budgets for outside consultants. GET YOUR COPY

 

 

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