A Nut that isn't really a nut

By Kathy Conner Cornell VCE Southside Master Gardener Every afternoon, my husband and I have a few beverages and sit with each other often talking but other times not. We generally have a snack and recently my husband brought out a can of Planters ® cashews. This reminded me of the wonderful cashews my sister and I used to get from Glaubers, a store that sold cards and nuts in Eastpoint Mall in Dundalk, MD. It got me to thinking about the unusual growth habit of this nut that isn’t really a nut. Most common nuts grow on trees and are born with a hard casing enclosing the nutshell that holds the nut meat. Think walnuts, pecans and filberts. All of these are commonly grown here in Virginia. Peanuts are legumes and grow below ground. Cashews are a bit more complicated. They are grown on a cashew apple tree and can only be grown in sub-tropical and tropical areas primarily near water.

This is a picture of cashew apples. They are drupes like peaches and plums. The brown semi-circle coming out the bottom contains the seed (think peach pit) which is the cashew nut covered by outer and inner shell containing toxic substances. The cashew tree, Anacardium occidentale, is in the same family as pistachios, mangoes, and poison ivy. The fruit of the tree is called a cashew apple, which is edible with its seed or the cashew extending below the apple. According to EBSCO cashew apples “are what botanists call drupes. (Cashews) are found growing on the bottom of the cashew apple and are harvested through a difficult process that puts harvesters in some danger from botanical poisons. The cashew seeds are collected and prepared for processing. Unlike many other seeds and nuts, cashews are never sold “in the shell." The grayish shell, which actually has two hard layers, contains two caustic substances. One is anacardic acid, an oily substance similar to urushiol, the compound in poison ivy that causes severe rashes. The other is cardol, a corrosive substance. Both have been known to permanently damage harvesters' skin”. Cashew apples are only harvested when they fall to the ground. The cashew portion is removed and the seed must be roasted, hopefully in a well-ventilated place. The outer and inner shell must be removed by hand. I checked the can of cashews and it said harvested from India, Indonesia, Mozambique, Nigeria and Vietnam. I’d like to say that these are countries with laws protecting workers but I doubt they have the likes of OSHA or EPA. The roasting burns off the caustic substances. Workers must remove the shells by hand. The workers all have burn scars since gloves are rarely available. Harvesting machines have not been successful removing the cashew without breakage. Wages are fairly low in these countries also. Makes you appreciate those cashews. Info from Illinois Extension “like all nuts, cashews are quite nutritious. A one-ounce portion (about 18 whole cashews) has 157 calories, 5 grams protein and 12 grams fat, but most of the fat is the heart-healthy unsaturated fat. When buying cashews, look for those that say, “lightly salted” or labeled “raw”, which means they are still heated enough to be safe; they just don’t have any added salts or flavorings.” The liquid inside the cashew apple is used in tropical fruit juices. Feni is a distilled liquor that is made from the juices of the cashew apple. This is only made in Goa, India. Not easily found in the United States, I did find 2 sources costing around $30 for 750 ml which is a little over 2 cans of beer. Think I’ll just stick to the cashew itself. When you next purchase cashews, you are encouraged to look for fair trade options that support the workers. Enjoy the delicious taste of the cashew which isn’t really a nut!