Cashewsnl

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CASHEWNOTEN

Name: Cashew

Latin Name: Anacardium occidentale L.

Family: Anacardiaceae

Discovery: The cashew nut was first discovered in 1558 by the Portugese in Brazil. They transported several of these trees to places all around the globe where they flourished very well. Nowadays cashewnut trees still grow in Brazil, Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania, Benin and India. It is a tropical tree and will only tolerate temperatures between 5 and 45 degrees celcius. As well as this it is able to grow and flourish on very poor soil if there is no rain or wind.

Height: The average height of a cashew tree is round about 15 metres, however there have been reports of 30 meter high trees.

Nut production: After 3 years the tree will bear nuts. On an averagely high tree, between 20 and 30 kg of nuts can be harvested in one year.

The Fruit: The nut grows underneath a fruit called the cashew apple. A single cashew apple can produce several nuts at once which then hang sideways from each other. There is always at least one nut growing from an apple. The cashew nut ripens about 14 days before the apple does and when it is ripe it falls off naturally.

Harvest and processing: When the nuts have fallen off the tree, they are collected and dried. This can be done naturally with the help of the sun, or artificially. This drying part of the process is important to be able to crack open the shell properly. The oil, which is retrieved through the cracking, is kept and used as industrial oil.

Nutritional information:

Food Energy	574	Calcium	45	Vitamin C	0
Protein	15	Iron	6	Thiamin	0,2
Lipid	46	Magnesium	260	Riboflavin	0,2
Saturated Fat	9	Phosphorus	490	Niacin	1
Monounsaturated Fat	27	Potassium	565	Vitamin B6	0,3
Polyunsaturated Fat	8	Sodium	16	Folate	69
Cholesterol	0	Zinc	6	Vitamin B12	0
Carbohydrate	33	Copper	2	Vitamin A	0
Fibre	3	Manganese	1	Vitamin E	1
Sugars	N/A	Selenium	12

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