Origin Of Cashews: A Brief History, How Did This Popular Nut Arrive In India?

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For a long time, cashews have been known as a nutritious nut that is loved by many people around the world. Cashews are known as a snack and are a healthy food, versatile, and unique compared to other nuts, and full of nutrients necessary for good health. Besides the great uses, as well as the value cashew nuts, bring, not everyone knows its origin. So where do cashews come from? We invite you to follow the useful information below.

A Popular, Dry Non-self-opening Kidney Shaped Fruit

There is a fact that not everyone knows about cashew fruit - this is a dry, non-self-opening fruit, kidney-shaped, about 2 to 3 cm long with a hard outer shell and sunken face. The fruit stem is enlarged, pear or peach-like in shape, red or yellow. Because of that, we often assume that the bulging stem is the fruit and the cashew nut is the seed. Therefore, many people often mistake cashews for gymnosperms but cashew nuts are exactly angiosperms - kidney-shaped seeds rich in fatty oils.

Though you might think of it as just another nut in trail mix, the cashew is a decidedly strange snack. Sprouting like a tail from the bottom of an oddly shaped fruit called the cashew apple. Its natural state is both very weird-looking and very poisonous. The main used part of the cashew nut is the cashew kernel. Their slightly sweet flavour, satisfying crunch, and buttery texture pair well with a variety of flavours and culinary applications. Cashews are usually grouped with other types of tree nuts, but they also have a lot in common with legumes and seeds.

A Brief History

Although it is now grown in many places, the origin of the cashew tree is from the northeastern region of Brazil. It was later brought to India by the Spaniards in the 16th century. The Portuguese empire at that time also brought cashew trees to their colonies in Africa such as Kongo or Mozambique. They planted it in Goa to prevent coastal erosion.

Cashew nut trees are used to mitigate soil erosion because of their extensive root system, which keeps the soil beneath them firmly in place. From India, the cashew tree then quickly spread throughout Southeast Asia such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, etc. Today's commercial cashew trees are grown mainly in places where there is a lot of rain and wet weather throughout the year such as in the Southeast region of Vietnam.

Where Do Cashews Come From?

The cashew seed is commonly considered a snack nut - cashew nut - eaten on its own, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter. Like the tree, the nut is often simply called 'cashew'. Cashews allergies are triggered by proteins found in tree nuts and cooking often does not remove or change these proteins. The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) is native to tropical regions of Brazil. The tree produces a long fleshy stalk called a 'cashew apple' which resembles a small pear. The matured cashew apple can be eaten fresh as well as cooked.

In the end, this stalk grows kidney-shaped 'cashew nuts' that many know and love. Cashews grow in areas with tropical climates at elevations sea level of 1 000 m with an annual rainfall of 400-4 000 mm parallel from 30 degrees North to 30 degrees South. Today, they are grown mainly in India, Vietnam, Ivory Coast, Guinea Bissau, Tanzania, Benin, Brazil, and other countries in East and West Central Africa and Southeast Asia. Moreover, cashew is also grown in South Africa and Australia.

Cashew nuts are protected by a double shell containing a potent poison called anacardic acid. This oily substance, closely related to urushiol (the toxic compound found in poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac), acts as an irritant causing an allergic rash on the skin. Its corrosive coating is the reason that cashew nuts are not sold in their shells like pistachios or peanuts. Instead, cashews are typically dried and roasted - a process that rids the nut of toxic oils and leaves its shell brittle and easy to remove.

Cashew Nuts: India Connect

Cashews are believed to have originated in northeastern Brazil. They were introduced to India by the Portuguese in the 16th century during their colonization efforts. The Portuguese established trade routes and settlements along the western coast of India, and it was during this time that cashew trees were brought to India from Brazil. The climate and soil of certain regions in India proved conducive to the growth of cashew trees, and over time, India became a significant producer of cashew nuts.

The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) is now cultivated in various parts of India, particularly in states like Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, and Maharashtra. The nut itself grows outside the cashew apple, which is a juicy fruit that's also consumed in some regions. The cashew nut has become an important agricultural product and export for India.

Today, Vietnam is the largest cashew-producing country. Over 65% of the world's export of cashew kernels is accounted for by Vietnam. Cashew nuts from Vietnam (Vietnamese cashews) are consumed in as many as 90 countries all over the world; with major markets being the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore New Zealand, and Middle East countries. In Vietnam, cashew trees are popular in the south, especially Central Highlands & Southeast regions, and few are grown west. Also, data suggests that India is the second-largest cashew-producing nation.