By MARY ANN CASTRONOVO FUSCO Wednesday, February 22, 2006 Crazy for Brazil nuts For the Star-Ledger      At carnival time, it's customary for revelers to go a little nuts. And the nation known for the craziest of carnival celebrations has given the world some of the biggest nuts around -- Brazil nuts.      Found throughout the Amazon rainforest of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, the tropical evergreen on which Brazil nuts grow, Bertholletia excelsa, is a marvel of nature. Soaring to a height of 165 feet with a crown that can stretch 100 feet in diameter, the tree grows slowly, taking 12 to 30 years before it begins producing significant amounts of fruit. But it can live to be 800. Euglossine orchid bees, which depend on the Euglossine orchid for survival, are needed to pollinate its flowers. The coconut-size woody fruit pods that the trees eventually bear contain 12 to 25 Brazil nuts, each within its own hard pyramidal shell, arranged like orange segments.      Because of the tree's unique characteristics, Brazil nuts are almost entirely harvested in the wild by local families and landholders operating on a concession basis. The fruits fall by themselves when mature, and the castanheiros or castaņeros -- Portuguese and Spanish for "nut gatherers" -- sell them to local shelling factories for packing and export. Harvesting is typically done in January and only during good weather, for wind and rain increase the deadly risk of being pelted by heavy nut pods dropping hundreds of feet.      According to the Amazon Conservation Association, "Harvesting Brazil nuts is a potentially competitive economic alternative to deforestation." And eating them can help safeguard not only the rainforest, but also one's own well-being.      In "Healthy Nuts: Your Guide to the Healthful Benefits of Nuts" (Avery Publishing, 2000), Gene Spiller noted that "the Brazil nut is blessed by the Amazon soil in the tropics, soil that is extremely rich in selenium." Essential to health, selenium is a mineral that is also believed to prevent some types of cancer. "While other common nuts contain just traces of selenium (4 to 40 micrograms in 100 grams), Brazil nuts contain from 230 to 5,300 micrograms in 100 grams, depending on the soil in Brazil where they grew, with an average of 1,530 micrograms in 100 grams," wrote Spiller. Thus, a single Brazil nut contains more than the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance for this crucial mineral.      Nutrient-dense, Brazil nuts are 17 percent protein and contain folic acid, magnesium, phosphorous, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, calcium, iron, potassium, zinc, copper, and arginine. "Finally, Brazil nuts are a great source of gamma-tocopherol (almost 4 milligrams per ounce), a powerful antioxidant and relative of vitamin E," noted Spiller.      Brazil nuts contain so much fat -- almost 70 percent -- that if you light one in its shell, it will burn much like a candle. But the Brazil nut's fat is mostly the heart-healthy unsaturated type. "It is one of the few common nuts that have about the same amount of mono- and poly-unsaturated fats," wrote Spiller. The nutmeat also contains alpha-linolenic acid, which converts to healthful omega-3 fatty acids.      Connoisseurs rate Brazil nuts among the world's finest. But according to Paul Esposito, a nut and dried fruit broker in Cranford, they're the ones most commonly left at the bottom of the mixed nut bowl. Ken Braverman of Newark Nut in Linden, which retails nuts nationally via a web site, www.nutsonline.com, agrees that demand for them "is on the lower end." Historically one of the least expensive nuts, Brazil nuts cost 30 to 50 percent more in 2005 than they did the previous year, he added.      Wholesale prices for Brazil nuts in the shell have jumped from 60 cents to $1.10 per pound, said Esposito. In the shell, the nuts retail for $2.99 per pound, said Braverman. He also sells unroasted shelled Brazil nuts for $6.99 per pound, roasted shelled Brazils for $7.50 per pound, and dark chocolate-coated Brazil nuts for $6.99 per pound.      Brazil nuts that don't rattle around in their shells are fresh and plump and not dried out. Good quality shelled nuts will appear crisp and unshriveled. A pound of nuts in the shell should yield about one and one-half cups of nutmeats. Because of their high fat content, Brazils spoil easily, so they're best stored in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed plastic bag or container. But that fat content also gives them a creamy texture and taste evocative of macadamia nuts and coconut that can enhance the simplest salads, as well as cake, brownie, and cookie batters. In more ways than one, then, Brazil nuts make a most sensible addition -- at carnival time and beyond.