Cashew

The cashew (Anacardium occidentale; syn. Anacardium curatellifolium A.St.-Hil.) is a tree in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The plant is native to northeastern Brazil, where it is called by its Portuguese name Caju (the fruit) or Cajueiro (the tree). It is now widely grown in tropical climates for its cashew "nuts" (see below) and cashew apples.

It is a small evergreen tree growing to 10-12 m tall, with a short, often irregularly-shaped trunk. The leaves are spirally arranged, leathery textured, elliptic to obovate, 4 to 22 cm long and 2 to 15 cm broad, with a smooth margin. The flowers are produced in a panicle or corymb up to 26 cm long, each flower small, pale green at first then turning reddish, with five slender, acute petals 7 to 15 mm long.

What appears to be the fruit of the cashew tree is an oval or pear-shaped accessory fruit or false fruit that develops from the receptacle of the cashew flower. Called the cashew apple, better known in Central America as "marañón", it ripens into a yellow and/or red structure about 5–11 cm long.

The true fruit of the cashew tree is a kidney or boxing-glove shaped drupe that grows at the end of the pseudofruit. Actually, the drupe develops first on the tree, and then the peduncle expands into the pseudofruit. Within the true fruit is a single seed, the cashew nut. Although a nut in the culinary sense, in the botanical sense the fruit of the cashew is a seed. The seed is surrounded by a double shell containing a caustic phenolic resin, urushiol, a potent skin irritant toxin also found in the related poison ivy. Some people are allergic to cashews, but cashews are a less frequent allergen than some nuts.

Other vernacular names include cajueiro, cashu, casho, acajuiba, caju, acajou, acaju, acajaiba, alcayoiba, anacarde, anacardier, anacardo, cacajuil, cajou, gajus, godambi (in Kannada), jeedi pappu (in Telugu), jocote maranon, maranon, merey, noix d’acajou, pomme cajou, pomme, jambu, jambu golok, jambu mete, jambu monyet, jambu terong, kasoy. In the Antilles, specifically Puerto Rico, it is known as pajuil and the pseudofruit is the main used part as raw fruit.

Cashew Industry[edit | edit 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, Southern 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.

Uses[edit | edit source]

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. In Goa, India, the cashew apple is the source of juicy pulp used to prepare fenny, a locally popular distilled liquor. In Nicaragua the cashew apple has many uses, it is often eaten or made into juice and also processed to create sweets and jellies. Other uses in Nicaragua include fermentation to produce wine and home-vinegar.^[1] 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 their mahouts (riders or keepers). 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.

See also[edit | edit source]

Template:Illustrated Wikipedia

• Wild Cashew - the species Anacardium excelsum

References and external links[edit | edit source]

• Green Caravan - fair trade organic cashew company Organic Cashew Nuts
• Morton, J. F. Fruits of Warm Climates. ISBN
• Fruits of Warm Climates online
• Handbook of Energy Crops - Anacardium occidentale L.
• Cajueiro - Tropical plant database by Raintree Nutrition
• History of the industrial use of Cashew Nutshell Liquid
• King's American Dispensatory: Anacardium occidentale (Cashew-Nut)
• Research Paper on the Cashew Processing Industry in West Africa

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anacardium occidentale.

• Anacardium.info is a cashew portal with more than 200 documents available. Presentation in French, most documents in English
• East Wind Community An intentional egalitarian community in Missouri that produces various natural and organic nut butters, including roasted and raw cashew butter.Its also known as "Godambi" in Kannada, a South Indian Language
• Cashew industry overview 2005
• Ladybirds on Cashew Tree, Sri Lanka
• Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation

Picture Gallery[edit | edit source]

Cashew Fruit- Stages of Development

• Cashew Inflorescence with developing fruit

  Cashew Inflorescence with developing fruit

• A mature cashew apple ready to be harvested

  A mature cashew apple ready to be harvested

• Harvested Cashew ready to be processed- Goa India

  Harvested Cashew ready to be processed- Goa India

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