This article is about the tree and its nut. For the Singaporean rapid transit station, see Cashew MRT station. In 2019, four million tonnes of cashew nuts were produced globally, with Ivory Coast how long do cashews last India as the leading producers.
As well as the nut and fruit, the plant has several other uses. The shell of the cashew seed yields derivatives that can be used in many applications including lubricants, waterproofing, paints, and, starting in World War II, arms production. Tupian word acajú, literally meaning “nut that produces itself”. The species is native to Northeastern Brazil and Southeastern Venezuela, and later was distributed around the world in the 1500s by Portuguese explorers. Portuguese colonists in Brazil began exporting cashew nuts as early as the 1550s. The drupe develops first on the tree, and then the pedicel expands to become the cashew apple. A woman uses a machine to shell cashews in Phuket, Thailand.
Culinary uses for cashew seeds in snacking and cooking are similar to those for all tree seeds called nuts. In the 21st century, cashew cultivation increased in several African countries to meet the demands for manufacturing cashew milk, a plant milk alternative to dairy milk. In Brazil, cashew fruit juice and the fruit pulp are used in the production of sweets, juice, mixed with alcoholic beverages such as cachaça, and as a flour, milk, or cheese. The cashew apple, also called cashew fruit, is the fleshy stem of the cashew fruit, to which the cashew nut is attached. The top end of the cashew apple is attached to the stem that comes off the tree. The mature cashew apple can be eaten fresh, cooked in curries, or fermented into vinegar, as well as an alcoholic drink.
