Anacardium occidentale

Cashew

A spreading evergreen tree that grows to 12 m in height. The cashew nut is attached to the swollen stalk, called the cashew apple, which when mature is 8 cm wide and coloured red and yellow. At harvest the cashew apple is separated from the nut and sold separately as a juicy fruit. The pericarp of the nut consists of two shells, between which there as a resinous layer containing an acrid fluid that has a corrosive effect on the skin, producing blisters on the fingers if the shells are broken manually. Before shelling, this acrid fluid must be eliminated by roasting the unshelled nut. About 30-40% of the cashew nuts produced are discarded either because of broken kernels or scorching during the roasting process. The discarded nuts contain a significant quantity of high-protein material, which is particularly useful for the feeding of monogastric animals. Cashew meal is also very high in protein and can be included without restriction in feeds for pigs; however, it may cause diarrhoea if fed in large amounts to calves and dairy cows.