Aleurites moluccanus

Aleurites moluccanus (or moluccana), the candlenut, is a flowering tree in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, also known as candleberry, Indian walnut, kemiri, varnish tree, nuez de la India, buah keras or kukui nut tree.

Its native range is impossible to establish precisely because of early spread by humans, and the tree is now distributed throughout the New and Old World tropics. It grows to a height of 15–25 m (49–82 ft), with wide spreading or pendulous branches. The leaves are pale green, simple and ovate, or trilobed or rarely five-lobed, with an acute apex, 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) long. The nut is round, 4–6 cm (1.6–2.4 in) in diameter; the seed inside has a very hard seed coat and a high oil content, which allows its use as a candle (see below), hence its name.

Uses

The nut is often used cooked in Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine, where it is called kemiri in Indonesian or buah keras in Malay. On the island of Java in Indonesia, it is used to make a thick sauce that is eaten with vegetables and rice. In the Philippines, the fruit and tree are traditionally known as Lumbang after which Lumban, a lakeshore town in Laguna is named. Outside of Southeast Asia, macadamia seeds are sometimes substituted for candlenuts when they are not available, as they have a similarly high oil content and texture when pounded. The flavor, however, is quite different, as the candlenut is much more bitter. At least one cultivar in Costa Rica has no bitterness, and an improvement program could likely produce an important food crop if non-toxic varieties can be selected and propagated. A Hawaiian condiment known as ʻInamona is made from roasted kukui (candlenuts) mixed into a paste with salt. ʻInamona is a key ingredient in traditional Hawaiian poke.

Kukui (band)

Kukui is a Japanese band consisting of Haruka Shimotsuki (vocal, lyrics & composition) and Myu (composition, arrangement & lyrics). They have produced songs for anime and games, most notably the Rozen Maiden anime series.

History

Originally, Shimotsuki and Myu of Refio (formerly a band made up of Myu and Riya) collaborated under the name Refio + Haruka Shimotsuki when they performed "Toumei Shelter", ending theme for Rozen Maiden in 2004. Not long after they formed Kukui and produced a dojin single "Yumewatari no Yoru", which was sold at the 67th Comic Market the same year. The following year they returned to provide the ending theme for Rozen Maiden's second season, Träumend, and made their first major release as Kukui with the mini album Hikari no Rasenritsu. In 2007 they released the album Leer Lied. Though technically their first full album, it was labelled as a Rozen Maiden Best Album, and included "Utsusemi no Kage", ending theme for the series' TV special Ouvertüre. The next album they released Hakoniwa Note, was marketed as their first album. It included their songs for the game Angel Profile.

PUA

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