Cashew
Anacardium occidentale

A native of the Americas, the cashew is one of the more unusual nuts we eat, for several reasons. First, it grows on the bottom of a pear-shaped fruit called the “cashew apple,” hanging there like an afterthought, though the nut develops before the apple. Second, the cashew is surrounded by a shell which contains highly toxic liquid used in industry. ( The cashew is cousin to poison ivy, and poison sumac and oak, as well as mango and pistachio.) Finally, though American in origin, the cashew tree is not a primary commercial product in any American country. India, more than 7500 miles as the crow flies from Brazil, the cashew’s homeland, leads the world in production, with Mozambique and Tanzania close behind. The tree also grows in Kenya and Nigeria, as well as Malaysia and Thailand.

Both the Portuguese and the Spanish carried the cashew to their colonies in the late 1500’s, the Portuguese to Goa, India, the Spanish to the Philippines.

'Anacardium occidentale', from Koehler's 'Medicinal-Plants' (1887) (source)

The cashew tree is an amazingly hearty evergreen tree which thrives in the heat of the tropics. It grows wild or can be cultivated, with equal ease. Growing up to 50 feet tall, with crooked branches and a rough-barked sinuous trunk, the cashew puts forth perfumed, yellow-pink flowers.

Ripe cashews in Guinea-Bissau (source)

Cashew nuts are lower in fat than most other nuts. They supply fiber as well as protein and B Vitamins. The “fruit” itself, not widely eaten outside of Brazil and Asia, is remarkably high in Vitamin C. 

Uses

"The cashew apple is used for its juicy but acidic pulp, which can be eaten raw or used in the production of jam, chutney, or various beverages. Depending on local customs, its juice is also processed and distilled into liquor or consumed diluted and sugared as a refreshing drink, Cajuína. Ripe cashew apples also make good caipirinha.

Fenny

In Goa, India, the cashew apple is the source of juicy pulp used to prepare fenny, a locally popular distilled liquor. The cashew apple contains much tannin and is very perishable. For this reason, in many parts of the world, the false fruit is simply discarded after removal of the cashew nut.

The urushiol must be removed from the dark green nut shells before the seed inside is processed for consumption; this is done by shelling the nuts, a somewhat hazardous process, and exceedingly painful skin rashes (similar to poison-ivy rashes) among processing workers are common. In India urushiol is traditionally used to control tamed elephants by its mahout (rider or keeper). The so-called "raw cashews" available in health food shops have been cooked but not roasted or browned.

Cashew nuts are a common ingredient in Asian cooking. They can also be ground into a spread called cashew butter similar to peanut butter. Cashews have a very high oil content, and they are used in some other nut butters to add extra oil. Cashews contain 180 calories per ounce (6 calories per gram), 70% of which are from fat.

The liquid contained within the shell casing of the cashew, known as Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL), has a variety of industrial uses which were first developed in the 1930s. CNSL is fractionated in a process similar to the distillation of petroleum, and has two primary end products: solids that are pulverized and used as friction particle for brake linings, and an amber-colored liquid that is aminated to create phenalkamine curing agents and resin modifiers. Phenalkamines are primarily used in epoxy coatings for the marine and flooring markets, as they have intense hydrophobic properties and are capable of remaining chemically active at low temperatures." (source)

Cashew Industry

This bubble map shows the global distribution of cashew nut output in 2005 as a percentage of the top producer (Vietnam - 960,800 tonnes).

Data was extracted on 8th June 2007 from http://faostat.fao.org/site/336/DesktopDefault.aspx?PageID=336 (source)

Originally spread from Brazil by the Portuguese, the cashew tree is now cultivated in all regions with a sufficiently warm and humid climate.

Cashew is produced in around 32 countries of the world. The world production figures of cashew crop, published by FAO, was around 2.7 million tons per annum. The major raw cashew producing countries with their production figures in 2005 (as per the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization) are Vietnam (960,800 tons), Nigeria (594,000), India (460,000 tons), Brazil (147,629 tons) and Indonesia (122,000 tons).

World’s total area under the cultivation of cashew is around 35,100 km². India ranks first in area utilized for cashew production, though its yields are relatively low. The world’s average yield is 700 pounds per acre (780 kg/hectare) of land.

Collectively, Vietnam, India and Brazil account for more than 90% of all cashew kernel exports. Some varieties of cashews come from Kollam or Quilon in Kerala, South India which alone produces 4,000 tons of cashews per annum. The major trading centers of cashew in India are Palasa, Kollam or Quilon Mangalore and Kochi. (source)

Home

Back to Exhibits