What is a Shea Nut?

A shea nut is basically the seed of the fruit of the shea tree (scientific name: Butyrospermum parkii), which is indigenous to parts of West and East Africa. A list of tree nuts released by the FDA in 2006, which included many common nuts such as peanuts, almonds and pecans, among others also included the shea nut.

What Does the Shea Nut Look Like?

The shea nut is simply a hard brown shell that needs to be cracked in order to reach the fatty kernel. To extract the valuable oil-rich shea nut, the fleshy tart fruit portion is removed which then reveals the hard-shelled nut. The nuts are then pounded and crushed then put to roast to obtain a buttery texture, which is eventually processed into the shea butter we know.

Is the Shea Nut Edible?

Nope, it isn’t! Remember the nut is just a hard shell which needs to be broken to extract shea butter and shea oil, which are two by-products of the shea nut. Now those two are the ones that are edible! Shea butter/nut oil is used traditionally by African women as a cooking fat which is said to be nutritious and the butter has been a source of food during seasons of food shortage or drought.

Shea butter, mixed with other oils, is also used in the chocolate industry as a substitute for cocoa butter (another natural plant butter which is a key ingredient in chocolate).

Uses of the Shea Nut

The shea nut is primarily used to extract shea butter and shea nut oil, rich in nourishing fatty acids and healing components, which are immensely useful in the skin and hair care department. Shea butter is added to numerous skin and hair products because of its intense and superior moisturizing abilities as well as medicinal benefits that keep skin and hair healthy, soft, moisturized as well as looking glossy and well-groomed.

Can you be Allergic to the Shea Nut or its Products?

According to this study, true allergic reactions to shea butter are extremely rare and there’s no proper clinical evidence that shows anyone negatively reacting to shea butter. However, there’s always a possibility that someone somewhere out there could have a reaction to shea butter. Please check out our three detailed posts:

Help! Do I Have an Allergic Reaction to Shea Butter?
Allergic Reactions to Shea Butter Used Topically – Can they happen?
Shea Butter and Nut Allergies

Interesting Facts about the Shea Nut

When shea nuts are removed from the fruit, they are washed and dried before being pounded and boiled to extract the resulting butter.

✾ The Shea nut is distinctly related to the Brazil nut!

✾ A kilogram (2 pounds) of the Shea fruit gives approximately 400 grams of dry seeds or shea nuts.

✾ The ripeness of the shea nut can be seen from the color of the nut’s shell. When unripe the shell will have an ivory white color, when it is ripe it will have a dark brown color.

✾ Sun drying of the she nuts provides better quality shea butter than smoking the nuts over a fire, which contaminates them with hydrocarbons.

✾ African women actually undertake a laborious and tedious task of crushing shea nuts with their bare hands in the shea butter extraction process! (Please ensure to support these hardworking women by purchasing only certified trade-fair shea butter as a way of giving back).

✾ Shea nuts are parboiled during the first week of collection, which stops the nuts from germinating and also decreases rancidity in the resulting shea butter.