From The Pond To The Table
Step One
Naturally Grown
Each plant spends 8 months growing. Our farmers use regenerative and traditional farming practices where no pesticides, fertilizers, or chemicals of any sort are used in this process. The flowers are perennial, meaning they grow back every year without having to be planted again.
Step Two
Picked by Hand
During harvest season our farmers dive into the ponds and carefully handpick each blossoming water lily pad to ensure it has reached peak ripeness. They then separate the dark seeds from the pod.
Step Three
Sunbathing
Next the seeds spend 3 whole days air-drying in the bright natural sunshine. The warm dry air at the foothills of the Himalayas is the perfect climate to rest in. After this process the seeds harden and resemble a large dark popcorn kernel.
Step Four
Popping Time
Our female farmers roast the seeds over an open flame using a wok type tool. The farming process is sustainable from start to finish, the fires are stoked using dried corn cobs that would otherwise go to waste. The high heat and pressure causes the seeds to puff up, shedding their hard and dark shell, revealing light, crunchy, snow-coloured puffs the size of large blueberries.
Step Five
Sorting
Next, the freshly popped makhana are sorted by hand, removing any shells or husks and ensuring only the highest quality seeds are sent to Toronto for flavouring.
Step Six
Travel
The popped makhana are then loaded up sky high on tuk-tuks like this one and driven to the local port. From there they travel the ocean by ship to arrive in Canada!
Step Seven
Seasoning
Finally, we season the popped makhana right here in Toronto, Canada. We flavour them with the highest quality ingredients we can find ensuring the best taste for you.
Happy Snackin!
ALL NATURAL
We created every flavour of Dear Snackers Makhana products in-house, ourselves. Countless hours of trials and testing with ONLY clean ingredients .
It took a while but we nailed some amazing flavours using only real and natural ingredients.
We don't want to brag but we use superfoods like turmeric and coconut flour in our seasonings! All of our products have less than 7 ingredients, and we want you to know exactly what they are so we feature our ingredient list on every product page.
NON-GMO
Makhana are a sustainable crop, and therefore a sustainable choice. Because of where the prickly water lily plant grows, it does not require using massive inputs of water and energy to ensure a successful yield.
Makhana, often called fox nuts, are grown without the use of pesticides, fungicides, or fertilizers, as these things actually damage the plant and the waters where they grow. They are a local crop, suited to the Indian climate, and our work with the village where our makhana farm is located in Bihar, India, ensures that the farmers will be able to continue their regenerative and traditional farming practices.
Vegan
BBQ and Sweet & Salty are made without the use of any animal products, making them suitable for all vegans and vegetarians.
Gluten-Free
Popped water lily seeds are entirely gluten-free!
Made In Canada
Proudly Canadian
How Do Makhana Compare To Popcorn
The number one question we receive is
"What are Makhana?"
The easiest way to answer that is to say it's like popcorn, but better.
"Better than popcorn", you say. "That's not possible".
Hey, we're not here to rain on popcorn's parade, we're popcorn lovers too, it's been a movie staple for decades and is also a great source of fibre.
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Makhana have the same ease of consumption, similar health benefits, plus just a few more things that take it up a notch in the makhana vs. popcorn debate.
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Don't take our word for it, check them out for yourself
Soy-Free
No soy or soy by-products
GMO-Free
No pesticides
No fungicides
No fertilizers
No genetically modified ingredients
100% Natural
No artificial flavours or colours
No preservatives
Only ingredients you can pronounce