Cashews are the seeds of the cashew tree anacardium occidentale a small flowering tree believed to be native to brazil. What we know as cashew nuts are actually seeds that grow in a kidney- or c-shaped drupe called the receptacle that grows out of the blossom end of cashew apples the fleshy bell-pepper-shaped fruit of the cashew tree. The drupe forms on tree and then as it matures the cashew apple forms in between the receptacle and the rest of the plant. Cashew apples are also considered a prized foodstuff by some cultures but they are highly perishable-often going from ripe to rotten in a single day. The cashew nuts themselves are a much more widely eaten food since once properly shelled they are shelf-stable for a much longer time. The receptacles in which the nuts grow have two tough shells containing a protective layer of an irritating acidic liquid which is sometimes collected for medicinal uses. Collecting the nuts requires considerable care and usually involves roasting them while still in the receptacle to drive off the cashew nut shell liquid and to make the shells brittle and more easy to remove. The portuguese are given credit for spreading the cultivation of cashews. In fact the english word for the nut cashew is an anglicized pronunciation of caju the word the portuguese adopted from acaju the word used by the tupi people native to the areas of brazil where cashews were first collected and eaten. In the 16th century portuguese explorers introduced cashew tre...
Cashews are the seeds of the cashew tree anacardium occidentale a small flowering tree believed to be native to brazil. What we know as cashew...show more
