Cashews, a Miracle from Brazil

Have you tried adding a little of roasted cashews to your rice? That’s really tasty, I love that! Cashews (the fruit of Anacardium occidentale) originate from Brazil. In 1558, the Portuguese land explorers brought the cashew tree seeds to South Africa, and since those times this plant has been cultivated in 32 countries: from Brazil to India and Vietnam. Not many of us know that a fruit of the cashew tree has both fleshy juicy apple (cashew apple) and a bean known as cashew nut. Since the cashew apples are quite difficult to be stored and transported, it is almost impossible to find them in the markets or stores of the US and Europe. However, in India people drink cashew apple juice just as we enjoy orange or apple juice. Cashew nuts have the shells filled with a poisonous liquid, that is why before they are delivered to our tables, they should be removed from the shells and processed. Read the rest of this entry »