Cashew Nut: Every Thing You Need To Know About it.

Cashews are a kidney-shaped seed sourced from the cashew tree — a tropical tree native to Brazil but now cultivated in various warm climates across the world.

While “raw” cashews are widely sold, truly raw cashews are not safe to eat, as they contain a substance known as urushiol, found in poison ivy. Urushiol is toxic, and contact with it can trigger a skin reaction in some people.

Cashew kernels are cooked in processing to remove this toxic liquid, and this resulting product is sold as “raw”.

Although commonly referred to as tree nuts, and nutritionally comparable to them, cashews are really seeds. They’re rich in nutrients and beneficial plant compounds and make for an easy addition to many dishes.

Like most nuts, cashews may also help improve your overall health. They’ve been linked to benefits like weight loss, improved blood sugar control, and a healthier heart.

This article reviews the nutrition, benefits, and downsides of cashews to determine whether they’re good for you.

A bowl of cashews

Cashew nut is made up of a fruit in which the kernel is embedded. The real fruit of the cashew is commonly a nut. It is a kidney- or heart-shaped achene, in any normal variety. Its color varies from bottle green to grayish brown (dried fruit).

The cashew tree produces a soft, shiny and juicy fruit, known as cashew apple which bears a single-seeded nut in its bottom covered with a hard grey shell. This nut is the most valued product and is commonly consumed as snack or used in confectionery and cooking.

The cashew apple’s juice is mainly used to make drinks, both natural and fermented. Furthermore, the fruit pulp can be made into jelly, syrup, candied fruit and preserves. The cashew apple juice is rich in vitamin C, antioxidants, minerals and sugars.

The liquid enclosed in the shell of the nut (cashew nut shell liquid, CNSL) is commonly used for industrial purposes. The liquid is nocuous, contains cardol and anacardic acid and has polymerizing and friction-reducing properties. It is used in many industrial processes in developing lubricants, varnishes, cements, drugs, antioxidants and fungicides among other uses.

The seeds of most fruits grow within the flesh, but the cashew seed hangs from the bottom of a cashew apple, essentially a swollen stem. A hard shell with two layers encases the kidney-shaped cashew seed, which must be harvested by hand. Between these two layers lurks the phenolic resin urushiol, which is the same substance that causes the blistering rash seen after contact with poison ivy and poison oak. The shelling process removes this substance, which is then used in the making of such products as varnish, insecticide, paint, and other industrial products. Because of the potential toxicity, cashews are never sold in the shell.

Fresh cashew apples taste delicious, but only growers and people living near cashew orchards will ever get to enjoy this fruit, as it is highly perishable. Cashew apples begin to ferment immediately after harvesting, and stay fresh no longer than 24 hours. Highly prized in their growing locale, cashew apples can sometimes be found canned, in jams, or as the base of a liqueur. Commercial producers in Brazil and India package the juice for sale regionally. The cashew tree itself does not go to waste, as the wood is milled into lumber used to build shipping crates and boats.

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