A Harmony Of Flavors Published “The Delicious Cashew Nut Has a Remarkable Story to Tell”

Feb. 27, 2013 - PRLog -- Chris Rawstern, Culinary Advisor for A Harmony of Flavors, published on Yahoo! Voices the article “The Delicious Cashew Nut Has a Remarkable Story to Tell”.

This article is part of A Harmony of Flavors mission to publish pertinent articles to help bring people’s attention to important issues or problems and hopefully offer some form of education for them to make the best decisions. This Article describes that the cashew nut grows far differently from most other nuts. Rather than a nut encased in an inedible fruit, cashews grow outside of an edible fruit called a cashew apple. This fruit is actually not a fruit at all, making it quite confusing.

The cashew tree, Anacardium occidentale L, can grow to 40 feet tall in tropical climates. It will not tolerate temperatures approaching freezing. The trees are native to tropical America from Mexico and the West Indies to Brazil and Peru.  They are quite attractive, with broad leaves and little pink flowers. The fruits begin to appear when the trees are around 3 years but come into full production at around 8 to 10 years. The trees are now grown in Africa, Vietnam and India for nut crops.

In English, the fruits are called Cashew Apples, though there is no resemblance to an apple. The part that looks like a fruit is actually an accessory fruit, and not a true fruit at all. The real fruit is the kidney shaped protuberance containing the cashew nut that grows from the bottom end of the cashew apple. The fleshy cashew apple resembles a pear in shape with yellow, orange or reddish skin. The skin and inner flesh are very soft, making the fruits unsuitable for shipping.

The cashew nut is surrounded by a very hard double shell casing. Inside this shell is contained a highly toxic oil that can cause severe burns to the skin. If one is very allergic to this oil, ingestion could be fatal. It will at least cause a skin reaction in most people. Because of the toxicity of this oil, it makes removal of the cashew nut difficult. Mechanizing this process has been unsuccessful, and must be done by hand. The seed casing must be heated by proper roasting which will destroy the oil toxins. This process must be done outdoors, as the toxic oils in the shell can squirt out onto the skin or be released into the air and cause severe lung damage, as when burning poison ivy. In fact the oils are chemically related to the urushiols in poison ivy. Anyone allergic to poison ivy has the possibility of allergy to parts of the cashew. If done properly, the extraction of the cashew nut leaves them perfectly edible. If one wonders at the cost of cashews, this is the reason why.

Cashew apples are quite mouth puckering and leave behind an odd feeling on the tongue. They are used to make refreshing beverages. They contain up to five times more vitamin C than oranges, plus a high amount of mineral salts. In countries where cashew apples are common, another use is making wine or other liquor from the fleshy accessory fruits. In Guatemala, maranon wine is made and used. One of the applications is its addition to the popular marinade called Chinichurri. In Goa, India, there is a liquor made from these fruits. These fleshy fruits can also be made into jam or other sweets, or dried.

Rawstern is an author, teacher, gourmet cook as well as a photographer and graphic artist.  She has taken or created all images appearing on these sites. Her articles have been syndicated nationally.

Her background is Slovakian on her mother's side and Yugoslavian on her father's. Her grandparents came from Europe to the United States to make a better life for themselves and their families. Her ethnic cooking influences began at the cradle. She began her cooking career in Guatemala, in 1970 when she moved there as a 20-year-old newlywed, and set out to learn to cook in a foreign land. This process was complicated by the fact that she could not speak or read the language.

Rawstern loves food, new recipes, and to teach people how to cook from scratch. Her passion is to teach people how to create A Harmony of Flavors when they cook, find joy in baking and help pass along her love of and joy in foods, both simple and exotic, plain or fancy, as she continues her journey in both ethnic cooking and domestic. Her favorite saying in her class is “Life is short – eat dessert first”.

About the Author

My name is Chris Rawstern and I have been on a cooking and baking journey for 42 years. I love food. I love to cook, and teach people how to cook, from scratch.  I love baking.  I love to create new recipes and try them.  I hope to inspire you to follow me!

I would love to hear from you, to help me continue my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of collecting favored recipes of your own.  Visit me at my Web site (http://www.aharmonyofflavors.com/) my Blog or Marketplace (http://www.a-harmony-of-flavors-marketplace.com/).  Email me at chris@aharmonyofflavors.com.