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Cashew trees thrive in tropical heat. They are evergreens that can grow quickly up to 50 feet (15 metres) tall. They have large leaves -- 4 to 8 inches long (10 to 20 cm) and 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5 cm) wide -- and perfumed, yellowish-pink flowers.

A Cashew tree will start producing nuts in its second year, though it won't reach its full potential until it is around 10 years old. By the time a tree is 20 years old, its productive life is over. Depending on what stage of life a tree is at, and how vigorous it is, a Cashew tree can produce anywhere from 1 to 100 pounds of nuts a year (500 g to 45 kg.)

A nut forms on the stem where the flower was. Then, an "apple" grows pushing the nut away from the stem, so that the nut ends up on the bottom of the apple. The fruit, and its nut, take two to three months to fully mature.

The apple can be harvested and used for many fruit products, though it must be used quickly -- it begins to ferment after 24 hours, which is why you won't see many being shipped for sale abroad. The nut is more valuable, however, so the fruit is often just discarded in pursuit of the nut. Sometimes, the fruit is allowed to just fall off the tree, and it and its nut are harvested from there.

The nut's outer shell contains "urushiol", the same allergen that is in poison oak, poison ivy, and poison sumac. Not surprisingly, therefore, this toxic outer shell can cause dermatitis in some people.

Cashew Nuts are always processed, consequently, to remove this outer shell. The processing must be done in a certain way, because if the shell is not opened properly, the toxin will get on the nut making it unfit for eating, let alone selling.

Most companies heat process the nut to make the shell easy to remove by steaming and/or boiling the nut in oil. The actual process of removing the shell after that is manual. A worker can process about 175 pounds (80 kg) of Cashew Nuts a day, using a specially designed machine with blades and cutters. Cashew nuts are inedible when raw.

Nutrition
Provides B vitamins, fibre, fatty acids, carbohydrate potassium, iron, and zinc. Cashews are lower in fat than other nuts such as peanuts, pecans, almonds and walnuts, but the fat is saturated.

The fruit is very high in Vitamin C.

History
Cashew trees are native to Brazil and Peru. In the 1500s, the Portuguese introduced its cultivation to their other colonies such as Goa, India, from which it is now a major export crop.

Also called:

Other entries for:

Nuts
Acorns, Almonds, Amalou, Brazil Nuts, Cashew Nuts, Chestnuts, Coconuts, Hazelnuts, Macadamia Nuts, Peanuts, Pecans, Pine Nuts, Pistachios, Tigernuts, Walnuts

Related Recipes

Cashew Chicken Casserole, Chestnut Patties with Cranberry Sauce, Chickpea Crumble