Nuts

Candlenut

Candlenut (Aleurites moluccanus), called kemiri, buah keras, or kukui, is an oily tropical seed used as a cooked thickener in Indonesian, Malaysian, Peranakan, and Hawaiian kitchens. Raw seeds taste slightly bitter and are not casual snacks—food use means toasting or simmering until the paste turns mild, rich, and binding. Historical lamp oil and food share the same high-fat seed; culinary lots must be fresh enough that the fat still smells clean. Pounded into rempah and spice bases, candlenut softens heat and gives body the way a little ground nut can round a sauce. Good kernels are firm and oily without paint-like rancidity; stale bags ruin an entire spice paste. Buy small cool lots and grind after heat treatment. Never plate raw candlenut beside cocktail almonds. Treat as a tree-nut style oilseed and always cook before eating.