How Cashews are Grown and Harvested
Who doesn’t love a roasted cashew, with its rich, buttery flavor and crunchy texture? For many, it’s their favorite “nut.” But….it’s not really a nut. Strictly speaking, true “nuts” are hard-shelled fruits that do not open to release a single seed…the classic examples of true nuts include chestnuts, hazelnuts and, surprisingly, acorns. Most of what we think of as nuts—pecans, walnuts, pistachios and, yes, cashews—are technically known as “drupes,” stone fruits similar to cherries or peaches, where the seeds are found inside a hard, woody shell.
The Cashew Tree—Not What You Might Imagine
Cashews grow on a type of evergreen tree, which can grow to be taller than 40 feet. The cashew is native to South America, believed to originate in Brazil, but nearly half of the world’s cashew production is now in Ivory Coast and India. With traditional cashew trees, there’s usually a three-to-four-year period before the they start producing edible cashews. Growers have successfully developed dwarf cashew trees that grow to be about 20 feet tall, but can produce edible fruit in their first year.
The actual cashew “nut” or drupe grows at the bottom of a fruit known as a cashew apple, a pear-shaped structure that is typically bright yellow or red. The cashew seed grows as a kidney-shaped appendage at the bottom of the apple. The apple tends to be fleshy and nutrient-dense, rich in Vitamin C. They tend to have a very short shelf life, so are typically used only locally, often in jams, beverages, candies, curries and for pickling. The common practice is to allow the cashew apple to naturally fall from the tree, so that the drupe/seed has fully developed, though some farmers will pick the apple off the tree if they believe the fruit has fully matured.
Harvesting the Cashew “Nut”
The drupes are carefully removed from the bottom of the cashew apple and typically dried in the sun for a few days. Once dried, the drupes are steamed, so that their shells soften and can be removed. The shells can be highly toxic, so workers must always wear gloves when removing the “nut” from the shell. While raw cashews are used in some types of cooking, most of the cashews are roasted almost immediately after they are removed from the shells, making them ready for consumers around the world.
