ABOUT

The cashew tree 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 small 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 started to 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 by-product that can be used in many uses 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.The nut and the fruit, both have multiple uses. The nut, often known as the poor man’s plantation although now it is sold for steep prices, is used to make appetizing and rich curries and also roasted and eaten dry.