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By: Ikedi Ani-okoye.

Cashew explained

The cashew is a tree in the flowering plants family Anacardiaceae. The plant is native to northeastern Brazil, where it is called by its Portugese 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.

What appears to be the fruit of the cashew tree is an oval or pear-shaped accesory 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. It is edible, and has a strong "sweet" smell and a sweet taste. The pulp of the cashew apple is very juicy, and the skin is fragile, thus making it unsuitable for transport.

The Cashew Nut

The cashew is a strange fruit. The edible seed (or nut to most) grows on the blossom end of an edible apple which is very fragile and cannot be exported. The apple is made into jam, jelly, marmalade and locally, as a very popular juice. The juice is fermented to produce an alcoholic drink.

The sap produces a resin that is used in book binding and an insect resistant varnish. The oil of the toxic shell is used to make waterproofing and is used as an adhesive. The oil of the shell is also a bactericide.

Cashew History

Cashew a native of Eastern Brazil introduced to India just as other commercial crops like Rubber, Coffee, Tea etc. by the Portuguese nearly five centuries back. The first introduction of cashew in India was made in Goa from where it spread to other parts of the country. In the beginning it was mainly considered as a crop for afforestation and soil binding to check erosions. The nuts, apple and other by products of this crop are of commercial importance. Though its commercial exploitation began from the early 60’s, marginal lands and denuded forests were the areas set apart for the plantation development.

CONCLUSION

Cashews originate as cashew fruits; the shell of the fruit is taken off and the thin skin peeled off from the nut inside before we get the kernels we call cashew nuts. Thus, raw cashews refer to the cashew fruits as they appear on the trees, and the proper term for cashew nuts is cashew kernels (cashew nuts should do as well).

The shell that is taken off from the fruit can be used as well – to produce what is called CNSL (for cashew nut shell liquid), a liquid that is used in a variety of industries for resin & chemicals (cardanol, residol, cardol & anacardic acid) that are derived from it. A less valuable use of the shell is as a fuel.