Cashew is the common name of a tropicalevergreen treeAnacardium occidentale, in the familyAnacardiaceae. It is native toSouth America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, anaccessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as 14 meters (46 feet), but the dwarf cultivars, growing up to 6 m (20 ft), prove more profitable, with earlier maturity and greater yields. The cashew nut is edible and is eaten on its own as asnack, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese orcashew butter. The nut is often simply called a 'cashew'. The cashew apple is a light reddish to yellow fruit, whose pulp and juice can be processed into a sweet,astringent fruit drink or fermented and distilled into liquor.
In 2023, 3.9 milliontons of cashew nuts were harvested globally, led by theIvory Coast andIndia. In addition to the nut and fruit, the shell yields derivatives used in lubricants, waterproofing, and paints.[2]
The cashew tree is large andevergreen, growing to 14 metres (46 feet) tall, with a short, often irregularly shaped trunk.[3] Theleaves are spirally arranged, leathery textured, elliptic to obovate, 4–22 centimetres (1+1⁄2–8+3⁄4 inches) long and2–15 cm (3⁄4–6 in) broad, with smooth margins. Theflowers are produced in apanicle orcorymb up to 26 cm (10 in) long; each flower is small, pale green at first, then turning reddish, with five slender, acutepetals7–15 millimeters (1⁄4–5⁄8 in) long.The largest cashew tree in the world covers an area around 7,500 m2 (81,000 sq ft) and is located inParnamirim,Brazil.[citation needed]
The fruit of the cashew tree is anaccessory fruit (sometimes called a pseudocarp or false fruit).[4][5] What appears to be the fruit is an oval or pear-shaped structure, ahypocarpium, that develops from thepedicel and the receptacle of the cashew flower.[6][7][3] Called the cashew apple, better known in Central America asmarañón, it ripens into a yellow or red structure about5–11 cm (2–4+1⁄4 in) long.[4][7]
The true fruit of the cashew tree is akidney-shaped orboxing glove-shapeddrupe that grows at the end of the cashew apple.[4] The drupe first develops on the tree and then the pedicel expands to become the cashew apple.[4] The drupe becomes the true fruit, a singleshell-encasedseed, which is often considered anut in the culinary sense.[4][7][8] The seed is surrounded by a double-shell that contains an allergenicphenolic resin,[7]anacardic acid - which is a potent skinirritant[3] chemically related to the better-known and alsotoxic allergenic oilurushiol, which is found in the relatedpoison ivy andlacquer tree.
The English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree:Caju (Portuguese pronunciation:[kaˈʒu]), also known asacaju, which itself is from theTupi wordacajú, literally meaning "nut that produces itself".[4][5]
Thegeneric nameAnacardium is composed of the Greek prefixana- (ἀνά-,aná, 'up, upward'), the Greekcardia (καρδία,kardía, 'heart'), and theNeo-Latin suffix-ium. It possibly refers to the heart shape of the fruit,[9] to "the top of the fruit stem"[10] or to the seed.[11] The wordanacardium was earlier used to refer toSemecarpus anacardium (the marking nut tree) beforeCarl Linnaeus transferred it to the cashew; both plants are in the same family.[12] Theepithetoccidentale derives from the Western (or Occidental) world.[13]
The species is native to tropical South America[14] and later was distributed around the world in the 1500s byPortuguese explorers.[4][15][7] Portuguese colonists in Brazil began exporting cashew nuts as early as the 1550s.[16] The Portuguese took it toGoa, formerlyEstado da Índia Portuguesa in India, between 1560 and 1565. From there, it spread throughout Southeast Asia and eventually Africa.[citation needed]
The cashew tree is cultivated in the tropics between 25°N and 25°S, and is well-adapted to hot lowland areas with a pronounced dry season, where the mango and tamarind trees also thrive.[18] The traditional cashew tree is tall, up to 14 m (46 ft), requiring three years from planting before it starts production, and eight years before economic harvests.[19][20]
More recent breeds, such as the dwarf cashew trees, are up to 6 m (20 ft) tall and start producing after the first year, with economic yields after three years. The cashew nut yields for the traditional tree are about 0.25 t (0.25 long tons; 0.28 short tons) per hectare, in contrast to over a ton per hectare for the dwarf variety. Grafting and other modern tree management technologies improve and sustain cashew nut yields in commercial orchards.[19][21]
In 2023, global production of cashew nuts (as the kernel) was 3.9 milliontonnes, led by Ivory Coast and India with a combined 46% of the world total (table).
Almost all cashews produced in Africa between 2000 and 2019 were exported as raw nuts which are much less profitable than shelled nuts.[22] One of the goals of theAfrican Cashew Alliance is to promote Africa's cashew processing capabilities to improve the profitability of Africa's cashew industry.[23] Half of the world's cashews were sold by American retailerCostco, as of 2025.[24]
Some people areallergic to cashews, but they are a less frequentallergen than other tree nuts orpeanuts.[25] For up to 6% of children and 3% of adults, consuming cashews may causeallergic reactions, ranging from mild discomfort to life-threateninganaphylaxis.[26][27][28][29] These allergies are triggered by the proteins found in tree nuts, and cooking often does not remove or change these proteins.[30] Reactions to cashew and tree nuts can also occur as a consequence of hidden nut ingredients or traces of nuts that may inadvertently be introduced during food processing, handling, or manufacturing.[27][28]
Culinary uses for cashew seeds in snacking and cooking are similar to those for all tree seeds called nuts.[4][7]
Cashews are commonly used inIndian cuisine, whole for garnishing sweets or curries, or ground into a paste[7] that forms a base of sauces for curries (e.g.,korma), or some sweets (e.g.,kaju barfi). It is also used in powdered form in the preparation of several Indian sweets and desserts. InGoan cuisine, both roasted and raw kernels ofGoa Kaju are used whole for making curries and sweets. Cashews are also used inThai andChinese cuisines, generally in whole form. In the Philippines, cashew is a known product ofAntipolo and is eaten withsuman. The province ofPampanga also has a sweet dessert calledturrones de casuy, which is cashewmarzipan wrapped in white wafers. In Indonesia, roasted and salted cashews are calledkacang mete orkacang mede, while the cashew apple is calledjambu monyet (lit. 'monkey rose apple').[citation needed]
In the 21st century, cashew cultivation increased in several African countries to meet the manufacturing demands forcashew milk, aplant milk alternative todairy milk.[37] In Mozambique,bolo polana is a cake prepared using powdered cashews and mashed potatoes as the main ingredients. This dessert is common in South Africa.[38]
Women shelling cashews inBurkina Faso, West Africa
A woman using a machine to shell cashews in Thailand, wearing gloves to protect againstcontact dermatitis
The cashew nut kernel has a slight curvature and twocotyledons, each representing around 20-25% of the weight of the nut. It is encased in a reddish-brown membrane called a husk, which accounts for approximately 5% of the total nut. Cashew nut husk is used in emerging industrial applications, such as anadsorbent,composites,biopolymers,dyes, and enzyme synthesis.[39]
The mature cashew apple can be eaten fresh, cooked in curries, or fermented into vinegar, citric acid,[40] or an alcoholic drink.[7] It is also used to make preserves, chutneys, and jams in some countries, such as India and Brazil.[7] In many countries, particularly in South America, the cashew apple is used to flavor drinks, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic.[4][3]
In Brazil, cashew fruit juice and fruit pulp are used to make sweets, and juice mixed with alcoholic beverages such ascachaça, and as flour, milk, or cheese.[41] In Panama, the cashew fruit is cooked with water and sugar for a prolonged time to make a sweet, brown, paste-like dessert calleddulce de marañón (marañón being a Spanish name for cashew).[42]
Cashew nuts are more widely traded than cashew apples, because the fruit, unlike the nut, is easily bruised and has a very limited shelf life.[43] Cashew apple juice, however, may be used for manufacturing blended juices.[43]
When the apple is consumed, itsastringency is sometimes removed by steaming the fruit for five minutes before washing it in cold water.Steeping the fruit in boiling salt water for five minutes reduces the astringency.[44]
In Cambodia, where the plant is usually grown as an ornamental rather than an economic tree, the fruit is a delicacy and is eaten with salt.[45]
In the Indian state ofGoa, the ripened cashew apples are mashed, and the juice, called "neero", is extracted and kept for fermentation[7] for a few days. This fermented juice then undergoes a double distillation process. The resulting beverage is calledfeni or fenny.Feni is about 40-42% alcohol (80-84 proof). The single-distilled version is calledurrak, which is about 15% alcohol (30 proof).[46] In Tanzania, the cashew apple (bibo inSwahili) is dried and reconstituted with water and fermented, then distilled to make a strong liquor calledgongo.[47]
Distilling cashew apple liquor (muchekele) in Mozambique, southeastern Africa
Cashew apples spread for drying and subsequent storage before reconstitution in water and later fermentation, Mozambique
Cashew nut oil is a dark yellow oil derived from pressing the cashew nuts (typically from lower-value broken chunks created accidentally during processing) and used for cooking or salad dressing. The highest quality oil is produced from a single cold pressing.[48]
Cashew nutshell liquid (CNSL) or cashew shell oil (CAS registry number 8007-24-7) is a naturalresin with a yellowishsheen found in thehoneycomb structure of the cashew nutshell, and is a byproduct of processing cashew nuts. Since it is a strong irritant, it should not be confused with edible cashew nut oil. It is dangerous to handle in small-scale processing of the shells, but is itself a raw material with multiple uses.[33] It is used in tropicalfolk medicine and for anti-termite treatment of timber.[49] Its composition varies depending on how it is processed.
Heating CNSLdecarboxylates the anacardic acids, producing a technical grade of CNSL that is rich in cardanol.Distillation of this material gives distilled, technical CNSL containing 78% cardanol and 8% cardol (cardol has one morehydroxyl group than cardanol).[51] This process also reduces the degree of thermalpolymerization of the unsaturated alkyl-phenols present in CNSL.
Anacardic acid is also used in the chemical industry for the production of cardanol, which is used for resins, coatings, and frictional materials.[50][51]
These substances are skin allergens, likelacquer and the oils of poison ivy, and they present a danger during manual cashew processing.[49]
This natural oil phenol has interesting chemical structural features that can be modified to create a wide spectrum of biobasedmonomers. These capitalize on the chemically-versatile construct, which contains threefunctional groups: Thearomatic ring, thehydroxyl group, and thedouble bonds in the flankingalkyl chain. These includepolyols, which have recently seen increased demand for their biobased origin and key chemical attributes such as high reactivity, range of functionalities, reduction in blowing agents, and naturally occurring fire retardant properties in the field of rigid polyurethanes, aided by their inherent phenolic structure and larger number of reactive units per unit mass.[33]
CNSL may be used as a resin forcarbon composite products.[52] CNSL-basednovolac is another versatile industrial monomer deriving from cardanol typically used as areticulating agent (hardener) forepoxy matrices incomposite applications[53] providing good thermal and mechanical properties to the final composite material.[54]
Discarded cashew nuts are unfit for human consumption and the residues of oil extraction from cashew kernels can be fed to livestock. Animals can also eat the leaves of cashew trees.[55]
In addition to its nut and fruit, the plant has several other uses. In Cambodia, the bark gives a yellow dye, the timber is used in boat-making, and for house-boards, and the wood makes excellent charcoal.[45] The shells yield a black oil used as a preservative and water-proofing agent invarnishes, cement, and as alubricant or timber seal.[7] Timber is used to manufacture furniture, boats, packing crates, andcharcoal.[7] Its juice turns black on exposure to air, providing an indelible ink.[7]
^Jostock, Carolyn (2008). Kinsbruner, Jay; Langer, Erick Detlef; Gale (Firm) (eds.).Encyclopedia of Latin American history and culture. Gale eBooks (2nd ed.). Detroit, Mich: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 176.ISBN978-0-684-31590-4.
^abcd"Cashew". Encyclopedia Britannica. 7 April 2020. Retrieved8 May 2021.
^Varghese, T.; Pundir, Y. (1964). "Anatomy of the pseudocarp inAnacardium occidentale L.".Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Section B.59 (5):252–258.doi:10.1007/BF03052341.S2CID83230755.
^abcdefghijklmnJames A Duke (1983)."Anacardium occidentale L." Handbook of Energy Crops. (unpublished); In: NewCROP, New Crop Resource Online Program, Center for New Crops and Plant Products, Purdue University. Retrieved10 December 2019.
^Kapinga, F. A.; Kasuga, L. J. F.; Kafiriti, E. M."Growth and production of cashew nut"(PDF).Soils, Plant Growth and Crop Production. Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems. Retrieved9 April 2021.
^Hugh F. Glen (2004).What's in a Name. Jacana. p. 3.ISBN978-1-77009-040-8.(Greek ana = upwards + kardia = heart); applied by 16th-century apothecaries to the fruit of the marking nut,Semecarpus anacardium, and later used by Linnaeus as a generic name for the cashew.
^"Occidental". The Free Dictionary. 2020. Retrieved6 March 2020.
^"Cultivating Cashew Nuts". ARC-Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops, South Africa.Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved15 February 2015.
^abMcWilliam V.; Koplin J.; Lodge C.; Tang M.; Dharmage S.; Allen K. (2015). "The prevalence of tree nut allergy: a systematic review".Current Allergy and Asthma Reports.15 (9): 555.doi:10.1007/s11882-015-0555-8.PMID26233427.S2CID36209553.
^da Silva, Kássia Teixeira; Oliveira, Beatriz S.; da Silva, Lucas R. R.; Mattos, Adriano L. A.; Mazzetto, Selma E.; Lomonaco, Diego (27 January 2023). "<scp>Bio-based</scp> novolac resins from cashew nut processing waste: Alternative resource for the development of <scp>high-value</scp> sustainable products".Journal of Applied Polymer Science.140 (13).doi:10.1002/app.53661.ISSN0021-8995.
.jpg)
