Cashew Nuts

Cashew Nuts

The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) is a tropical evergreen tree that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple pseudofruit.^[1] The tree can grow as high as 14 m (46 ft), but the dwarf cultivars, growing up to 6 m (20 ft), prove more profitable, with earlier maturity and greater yields.

The cashew seed is often considered a nut in the culinary sense; this cashew nut is eaten on its own, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter. Like the tree, the nut is often simply called cashew. Culinary uses for cashew seeds in snacking and cooking are similar to those for all tree seeds called nuts. In 2017, Vietnam, India, and the Ivory Coast were the major producers. Cashew allergies are triggered by the proteins found in tree nuts, and cooking often does not remove or change these proteins. As well as the nut and fruit, the plant has several other uses. The shell of the cashew seed yields derivatives that can be used in many applications including lubricants, waterproofing, paints, and, starting in World War II, arms production.^[2] The cashew apple is a light reddish to yellow fruit, whose pulp can be processed into a sweet, astringent fruit drink or fermented and distilled into liquor.