Cashew

Where it grows

The cashew is native to northeastern Brazil and the Atlantic coast, where it grows in scrubby coastal cerrado. Portuguese traders spread it to Goa in the 16th century, from which it dispersed across Africa and Southeast Asia. India, Vietnam, and Ivory Coast now lead world production.

How to recognise it

A low, spreading evergreen tree with thick, leathery oval leaves and small fragrant pinkish flowers in branched panicles. The unusual fruit develops in two parts: the swollen, pear-shaped, edible “cashew apple” (botanically a false fruit), with the true fruit — a hard, kidney-shaped nut — hanging below it.

Uses

The familiar cashew nut is encased in a shell containing caustic urushiol-related oils that must be roasted off, which is why cashews are always sold pre-shelled. The cashew apple is fermented in Goa to make feni liquor and elsewhere into juice and jam. Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) is an industrial raw material for resins, brake linings, and varnishes.

Caution

Cashew is in the same family as poison ivy, and its shell oil causes severe skin burns in unprotected workers.