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Ever wonder where cashews come from?You might think they grow inside a shell like any other nut, but their origins are far more bizarre.
First
of all, cashews are not actually nuts, but rather fruits from the
cashew tree, a large evergreen tree that thrives in tropical climates.
The
tree produces red flowers, which in turn produce yellow and red oval
structures resembling apples. These so-called cashew apples are very
juicy and pulpy, and their juice is often added to tropical fruit
drinks.
However,
cashew apples are not actually fruits in a scientific sense...the real
fruit of the cashew tree is the kidney-shaped formation growing at the
end.
These
fruits, also called drupes, are harvested and become what we know as a
cashew nut. In their raw form, the other layer of the fruit contains
multiple toxins, including anacardic acid, a powerful skin irritant
similar to the toxin found in poison ivy that must be removed prior to
eating.
Roasting
the cashews destroys the toxins, but roasting must be performed
carefully outdoors because the smoke can irritate the lungs, sometimes
to a life-threatening degree.

Cashews, when they are
roasted, change from their natural greenish-gray color to the light brown nut
sold in stores.
Next time you crack open
a tin of cashews, take a moment to appreciate the long journey those little
c-shaped nuts took to get from the tree to your table! It also explains why
they are so expensive!