For thousands of years, candlenut oil has been used in many beauty rituals and skin care treatments thanks to its potent moisturizing properties. If you're not adding kukui nuts to your skincare routine, you should try utilizing them in your kitchen. Modern cognates including Fijian, Tongan, Rarotongan, and Niue tui-tui; and Hawaiian kui-kui or kukui.

Also known as kukui nut, this elegant plant has been widely prominent in Southeast Asia for thousands of years. This relative of the macadamia nut has a high oil content, which even allowed it to once be used to fashion candles, hence the name! Remains of harvested candlenuts have been recovered from archaeological sites in Timor and Morotai in eastern Indonesia, dated to around 13,000 and 11,000 BP, respectively. After harvesting, the nuts are generally roasted and shelled prior to being sold in the markets of Malaysia and Indonesia. Inside the hard, furrowed shell, the nut has a high oil content that allows it to burn like a candle.Candlenuts have long been a staple of many Asian culinary dishes, and their almond-like flavor can be delicious in many courses. It also represents the island of Molokaʻi, whose symbolic color is the silvery green of the kukui leaf.

Candlenuts come from the same family as poinsettia plants, and just like poinsettia plants they have a slight toxicity to them and can be harmful if ingested. Beef Rendang from Indonesia: Beef Rendang is a dry beef curry recipe that is very popular in Indonesia. The lush and tropical archipelago of Indonesia is home to vivid greenery, diverse wildlife, and a rich, ancient culture.

As recently as 1993 on the outlying islands of the kingdom of Tonga, candlenuts were chewed into sweet-scented emollient used during a traditional funerary ritual.