Cashews

Choose plump, creamy-white cashews with no dark spots, oiliness, or sour smell — signs of rancidity. Their high oil content makes them perishable once shelled, so buy from a shop with quick turnover.

Whole kernels command a premium for snacking; splits and pieces are just as good for cooking and baking and cost less. Raw cashews for blending should look pale and chalky, not yellowed.

Fresh harvest arrives with the dry season — February through May in West Africa and India, late spring in Vietnam — when kernels are at their sweetest and moistest.

Why pre-shelled: Raw cashew shells contain urushiol, the same irritant as poison ivy. Processors steam or roast the nuts in-shell to neutralize it, then crack and peel them — so the cashews you buy are always pre-treated and safe to eat raw.

Soaking for cream: Soak raw cashews in hot water for 30 minutes (or overnight in cold) to soften them before blending — the key to silky-smooth cashew cream, sauces, and cheesecake filling.

Roasting: Toast cashews in a dry skillet over medium heat for 5–7 minutes, shaking often, until golden and fragrant — roasting deepens their sweetness and crispness.

The cashew apple: In cashew-growing regions the sweet-tart apple is eaten fresh, pressed into juice (cajuína), fermented into feni liquor, or made into jam and chutney.

Freezing: Cashews freeze beautifully for a year — portion them in bags and use straight from frozen for blending or roasting.

Cashew butter: Homemade cashew butter keeps several weeks refrigerated; stir separated oil back in before using.

Brittle & fudge: Cashew brittle and kaju katli keep for weeks in an airtight tin, making them festive and shelf-stable treats for gifting.

Cashews are lower in fat than most nuts, with a higher proportion of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. A quarter cup offers about 5 grams of protein and nearly a gram of iron.

They are an excellent source of copper and magnesium (for bone and immune health), and supply zinc, manganese, and phosphorus.

Their starch content is unusually high for a nut, which helps cashews thicken sauces and bind vegan cheeses — and contributes to their characteristic creaminess.

A cashew isn't a true nut — it's the seed of the cashew apple, and a single apple holds just one cashew dangling beneath it.

Cashew shells contain urushiol, the same irritant as poison ivy, so workers wear protective gloves and the nuts are always steamed and shelled before sale.

The world's largest cashew tree grows in Pirangi, Brazil — a single tree that covers roughly 8,000 square meters and produces tens of thousands of fruits a year.

Goa's famed feni liquor is distilled from fermented cashew apple juice, a tradition dating to the Portuguese colonial era.

Cashew harvests inspire festivals across the tropics, from Brazil's Northeast to India's Konkan coast:

Labor & processing: Shelling cashews is labor-intensive and the caustic shell oil makes it hazardous work. Fair-trade and properly equipped processors protect workers with gloves, ventilation, and fair wages.

Cashew apples: Only the nut is exported commercially, so millions of tons of nutritious cashew apples are often discarded. Efforts to use them for juice, jam, and liquor reduce waste and boost grower income.

Global range: Native to Brazil, cashews now grow across the tropics — India, Vietnam, Côte d'Ivoire, and West Africa are leading producers, thriving in warm climates with a distinct dry season for harvest.