The Galip
pp. 104-105 · Read in the full issue
New Guinea’s Most Succulent Nut
AN enterprising firm in Hawaii, seeking novel and attractive foodstuffs for marketing in America, asked the PIM for any available information about the Galip—that succulent, well flavoured nut so much in favour among all races and classes in New Guinea.
We sent the letter on to the Director of Agriculture in New Guinea, and Mr. R. E. P. Dwyer’s reply, published hereunder, is not only interesting—it shows how promptly and efficiently this De partment functions when anyone seeks information about the Terri tories’ agricultural resources: There are a number of species of Canarium found in Papua and New ■Guinea. Of the two most common, one has rounded ovate shells and the other ribbed shells. The natives refer to these as Galip No. 1 and Galip No. 2.
Some species are soft-shelled and not edible, except the one called ■Chinese olive, which can be treated as an olive. The Galip nut is most closely related to the Java Almond, Canarium commune, which makes such a beautiful avenue in the Botanic Gardens at Bogor, In
donesia. These nuts are favoured articles of food there as are the Galip nuts here, both natives and Europeans regarding them highly.
I would refer you to Burkill’s Dictionary of the Economic Pro ducts of the Malay Peninsula, under “C” Canarium, for quite a good de scription of the species, and its economic uses.
The Galip nut, of course, seasonal in its fruiting; and 01 odd trees have been cultivated.
Pacific Islands Monthly has ; formed you, the nuts are mail collected in the bush. The n are very rich in protein and oil a: when roasted, compare more th favourably with other well-kno types of nuts. For example, ma
teople prefer them to roasted pea luts. There is no question of the lutritive value being high, and the helled nuts contain more than 60 er cent, of an excellent-tasting dible oil. The oil is often used s a medium for cooking fish and, i our opinion, the taste is better lan peanut oil for that purpose.
The shells are hard to crack, and re comparable with the Brazil nut, not harder.
The best way to keep the shelled “rnels is in an air-tight jar, and lit them in the same way as pea ats. On a large scale they can be eported in sealed tins. With such high oil content they can easily ) rancid when shelled, if not pro ;rly stored. After roasting and Iting, the shelled kernels will keep long while, if adequately stored.
I am forwarding 2 lbs by airmail r seed purposes. These seeds ive been addressed to the Plant narantine Section, Honolulu, for livery to you. The viability of the eds deteriorates rapidly, so it is ggested that you plant them as on as possible after receipt. It s been found that stratifying the sds between sand, sawdust, or a ixture of both, gives good results, le sawdust or sand should be kept )ist and the nuts transferred to rsery rows as soon as they com ;nce to shoot.