It begins with cleaning, which obviously involves washing the nuts to remove any dirt, pesticides, or debris. Processing cashews is a long and fairly labor intensive process. Immature cashews aren’t suitable for processing. A mature nut sinks while an immature one floats. Next, farmers test the nut’s maturity by dropping them in water. Of course, this process is done by hand and happens roughly once a week during harvest season.Īfter picking, the nuts and fruit are separated, with the nuts left in the sun for a few days to reduce the moisture content. Harvesting involves picking the fruit and nuts off the ground, as they drop off the tree once ripe. Once ripe, the nuts and fruit are harvested together, which usually takes place from February to May. The apple takes six to eight weeks to grow, and only ripens in the final two weeks. At this point, the weaker trees are thinned out to provide enough room for the stronger ones.Ĭashew trees flower for around three months, during which time they’re pollinated by insects. The baby trees are grown rapidly in the first three years until they nearly reach their desired harvesting height. They need to be grown at altitudes of at least 700m above sea level to ensure a consistent temperature and no chance of frost. New cashew plantations begin with a large number of seedlings. Together with India, the two countries produce 39% of the world’s total supply. The Ivory Coast is the world’s largest exporter of cashews, producing nearly 800,000 tonnes each year. This is an oil that can irritate skin and lead to rashes, blisters, and itching.Ĭashews are most widely cultivated in Asia, primarily in India and Vietnam, but also in Africa. One of the key defining features of many of these plants is that they secrete urushiol. Anacardiaceae is more widely known as the cashew family, but contains poison ivy, sumac, pistachios, and even mangoes. Interestingly, cashews are in the same plant family as poison ivy. Also, they mature faster and so are more profitable. These only grow to 20ft but are comparatively more productive and are easier to harvest. The trees can grow up to 46ft in height, but producers often use dwarf cultivars. It’s known as a nut simply because its culinary uses align more closely with nuts than with seeds/fruits. A seed, on the other hand, may or may not be encased in a fruit.Ĭashew seeds grow from the bottom of the cashew apple, which is technically known as either a pseudofruit or accessory fruit. The important difference is that a traditional nut (walnuts, for example) are encased in a hard shell. The part we eat, known as a cashew nut, is actually the plant’s seed. They transported it to Goa, India, and it spread across Asia and Africa. It was “discovered” by the Western world in the 16th century by Portuguese colonists. The cashew ( anacardium occidentale) is an evergreen tree native to tropical regions, including northern South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. To help you understand why this is so important, it’s necessary to tell the story of the cashew nut. Here at Uprise Foods, we pride ourselves on using only Fairtrade certified cashews in all of our products. This humble nut has become a cornerstone of many culinary schools, from Indian and Thai to vegan dairy alternatives, including milk and cheese. Whether you enjoy eating them or not, the cashew is instantly recognizable thanks to its crescent shape and buttery flavor. It’s fair to say that everyone knows what a cashew nut looks like.
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