Its English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree cajú (Portuguese pronunciation: [kaˈʒu]), which itself is derived from the Tupian word acajú, literally meaning "nut that produces itself".
The generic name Anacardium, derived from Greek ἀνά (aná or above) and καρδία (kardía or heart), refers to the unusual location of the seed above the core or heart of the fruit.
The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) is a tropical evergreen tree that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple. It can grow as high as 14 m (46 ft), but the dwarf cashew, growing up to 6 m (20 ft), has proved more profitable, with earlier maturity and higher yields.
The species is originally native to northeastern Brazil. Portuguese colonists in Brazil began exporting cashew nuts as early as the 1550s. Major production of cashews occurs in Vietnam, Nigeria, India, and Ivory Coast.
The cashew nut, often simply called a cashew, is widely consumed. It is eaten on its own, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter. The shell of the cashew seed yields derivatives that can be used in many applications including lubricants, waterproofing, paints, and arms production, starting in World War II. The cashew apple is a light reddish to yellow fruit, whose pulp can be processed into a sweet, astringent fruit drink or distilled into liquor.
LEARN ABOUT CASHEW
What is a Cashew Apple?
The largest edible part of a cashew nut is actually not the nut at all, but the pear-sized fruit above the nut. A cashew nut is not a nut inside a round or even oval shell; a cashew nut is a protrusion outside at the bottom end of a soft tropical fruit! This soft red or yellow fruit is called a cashew apple.
As a further irony, the nut grows first, and only when the nut is practically full size does the fruit begin to grow. But eventually the fruit is about 800% larger than the nut.
The cashew apple is fully edible but is usually thrown away. Kind of ironic that the cashew tree is a member of the same plant family as mango, the Anacardiaceae.
Because the cashew apple is so soft, it is easily damaged when it falls from the tree, or when handled after harvesting, and especially susceptible to damage from being packed and shipped. Plus it rots very quickly (especially if scrapped or otherwise damaged). But actually the cashew apple is completely edible and does not need to be treated or processed.
What is a Cashew Nut, from the Anacardium occidentale tree?
The cashew nut is not a seed inside a hard shell; the cashew nut sticks out far below the fruit. Furthermore the cashew nut is not encased in either a round or oval shell. The enclosure of the nut is simply an outer layer in precisely the same curved typical cashew nut shape. The cashew nut is also a member of the same plant family as the pistachio nut (same Anacardiaceae family as the mango).
The nut is encased in plant chemicals which are poisonous called Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL).
Cashew Tree Flowers
The flowers vary in color (as do the resultant fruits: yellow, yellow-orange, orange, reddish). Here we show a range of flower sizes and colors.
Anacardium Occidentale Flowers, Photo by Nicholas Hellmuth.
The nut forms first. The nut gets bigger and bigger, with a bright green outside. Then the stem above the nut starts growing. This turns into the large mango-sized and mango-soft fruit (but taste is distinctive; definitely not mango taste).
Anacardum occidental, fruit nut, and plant, Photography by Nicholas Hellmuth
Health benefits of Cashew nuts
Cashew apples possess anti-bacterial properties and have been proven to be effective in treating stomach ulcers and gastritis, which is usually caused by H. pylori bacteria. Its juice is rich in vitamin C and has an anti-scurvy effect. Cashew apple juice is widely utilized in the cosmetic industry due to the presence of antioxidants and is used in the preparation of various creams and shampoos. Cashew extract contains anarcardic acid which is an antioxidant and has been shown to limit the pigmentation effects of aging and to eradicate the cancer cells.
Fruit of the cashew tree is used to treat infant's thrush and sore mouth. In the Amazon, people use the tea prepared from the bark and the cashew apple juice for chronic dysentery and as an anti-diarrheal remedy. It is also believed to possess sudorific or sweat-inducing properties. The juice extracted from the cashew apple can also serve as an ointment for aches of rheumatism and neuralgia.
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