Nuts

Cashew

Cashew is the curved seed that hangs beneath the fleshy cashew apple of Anacardium occidentale, a tropical tree native to northeast Brazil and now orchard-grown across India, Vietnam, West Africa, and Southeast Asia. The kernel tastes sweet and creamy with a soft, yielding crunch and almost no bitterness when it has been properly shelled. A caustic phenolic liquid in the shell makes home shelling unsafe; commercial lines use heat and controlled cracking so the edible meat never meets that oil. High fat gives the nut its luxurious mouthfeel and also explains why warm pantries turn broken pieces cardboard- stale within weeks. Cooks reach for cashews in Indian kaju curries and barfi, Vietnamese and Chinese stir-fries, roasted snack mixes, and the soaked pastes that become dairy-free cream, cheese, and frosting. Premium lots are plump WW grades with pale ivory flesh and a clean, milky aroma; poor stock is yellowed, shrivelled, or smells of paint and old oil. “Raw” retail cashews are still industrially processed—true field-raw shells are hazardous. Keep airtight and cool, or freeze for pastry work. Compared with almond it is softer and sweeter; compared with hazelnut it is less aromatic and more cream-like.