Description
The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) is a tropical evergreen
tree that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple. It can
grow as high as *4 m (*6 ft), but the dwarf cashew, growing up to 6
m (*0 ft), has proved more profitable, with earlier maturity and
higher yields.
The species is originally native to northeastern Brazil. Portuguese
colonists in Brazil began exporting cashew nuts as early as the
***0s. Major production of cashews occurs in Vietnam, Nigeria,
India, and Ivory Coast.
The cashew nut, often simply called a cashew, is widely consumed.
It is eaten on its own, used in recipes, or processed into cashew
cheese or cashew butter. The shell of the cashew seed yields
derivatives that can be used in many applications including
lubricants, waterproofing, paints, and arms production, starting in
World War II. The cashew apple is a light reddish to yellow fruit,
whose pulp can be processed into a sweet, astringent fruit drink or
distilled into liquor.
