Cashews (1KG)

The cashew tree is a tropical evergreen that produces the cashew nut and the cashew apple. It
can grow as high as 14 metres, but the dwarf cashew, growing up to 6 metres, has proved more
profitable, with earlier maturity and higher yields. The cashew nut is served as a snack or used
in recipes, like other nuts, although it is actually a seed.

The cashew apple is a fruit whose pulp can be processed into a sweet, astringent fruit drink or distilled into liqueur. The shell of the cashew nut yields derivatives that can be used in many applications, from lubricants to paints, and other parts of the tree have traditionally been used for snake bites and other folk remedies.

Originally native to northeastern Brazil, the tree is now widely grown in tropical regions, India, and
Nigeria being major producers,in addition to Vietnam, the Ivory Coast, and Indonesia. Cashew nuts are a
popular snack and food source. Cashews, unlike other oily tree nuts, contain starch to about 10% of
their weight.

This makes them more effective than other nuts in thickening water-based dishes such as
soups, meat stews, and some Indian milk-based desserts. Many Southeast Asian cuisines use cashews for
this unusual characteristic, rather than other nuts.