Cashew (काजू )

cashew name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree.

The tree is small and evergreen, growing to 10-12 meter.The leaves are spirally arranged, leathery textured, elliptic to obovate, 4 to 22 cm long and 2 to 15 cm broad, with a smooth margin. The  flowers  are produced in a panicle or corymb up to 26 cm long. 

The true fruit of the cashew tree is a kidney or boxing-glove shaped drupe that grows at the end of the cashew apple. in the botanical sense the nut of the cashew is a seed.


Nigeria was the world's largest producer of cashew nuts with shell in 2010. Cashew nut production trends have varied over the decades. African countries used to be the major producers before 1980s, India became the largest producer in 1990s, followed by Vietnam which became the largest producer in mid 2000s .

Top Ten Cashew Nuts (with shell) Producers in 2010
Country	Production (metric tons)	Yield (MT/hectares)
Nigeria	650,000	1.97
India	613,000	0.66
Côte d'Ivoire	380,000	0.44
Vietnam	289,842	0.85
Indonesia	145,082	0.25
Philippines	134,681	4.79
Brazil	104,342	0.14
Guinea-Bissau	91,100	0.38
Tanzania	80,000	1.0
Benin	69,700	0.29
World Total	2,757,598	0.58
Source: Food & Agriculture Organization

NUTRITION INFORMATION

                                                                Amounts per 1 ounce (28g)

Calorie Information

Amounts Per Selected Serving

%DV

Calories

155

(649 kJ)

8%

  From Carbohydrate

34.4

(144 kJ)

 

  From Fat

103

(431 kJ)

 

  From Protein

17.7

(74.1 kJ)

 

  From Alcohol

~

(0.0 kJ)

 

Protein & Amino Acids

Amounts Per Selected Serving

%DV

Protein

5.1

g

10%

Tryptophan

80.4

mg

 

Threonine

193

mg

 

Isoleucine

221

mg

 

Leucine

412

mg

 

Lysine

260

mg

 

Methionine

101

mg

 

Cystine

110

mg

 

Phenylalanine

266

mg

 

Tyrosine

142

mg

 

Valine

306

mg

 

Arginine

594

mg

 

Histidine

128

mg

 

Alanine

234

mg

 

Aspartic acid

503

mg

 

Glutamic acid

1262

mg

 

Glycine

262

mg

 

Proline

227

mg

 

Serine

302

mg

Carbohydrates

Amounts Per Selected Serving

%DV

Total Carbohydrate

9.2

g

3%

Dietary Fiber

0.9

g

4%

Starch

6.6

g

 

Sugars

1.7

g

 

Fats & Fatty Acids

Amounts Per Selected Serving

%DV

Total Fat

12.3

g

19%

Saturated Fat

2.2

g

11%

Monounsaturated Fat

6.7

g

 

Polyunsaturated Fat

2.2

g

 

Total trans fatty acids

~

 

 

Total trans-monoenoic fatty acids

~

 

 

Total trans-polyenoic fatty acids

~

 

 

Total Omega-3 fatty acids

17.4

mg

 

Total Omega-6 fatty acids

2179

mg

Vitamins

Amounts Per Selected Serving

%DV

Vitamin A

0.0

IU

0%

Vitamin C

0.1

mg

0%

Vitamin D

~

 

~

Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol)

0.3

mg

1%

Vitamin K

9.5

mcg

12%

Thiamin

0.1

mg

8%

Riboflavin

0.0

mg

1%

Niacin

0.3

mg

1%

Vitamin B6

0.1

mg

6%

Folate

7.0

mcg

2%

Vitamin B12

0.0

mcg

0%

Pantothenic Acid

0.2

mg

2%

 

minral

 

Amounts Per Selected Serving

%DV

Calcium

10.4

mg

1%

Iron

1.9

mg

10%

Magnesium

81.8

mg

20%

Phosphorus

166

mg

17%

Potassium

185

mg

5%

Sodium

3.4

mg

0%

Zinc

1.6

mg

11%

Copper

0.6

mg

31%

Manganese

0.5

mg

23%

Selenium

5.6

mcg

                                                                                          Other

Amounts Per Selected Serving

%DV

Alcohol

0.0

g

 

Water

1.5

g

 

Ash

0.7

g

 

The cashew nutshell liquid (CNSL), a byproduct of processing cashew, is mostly composed of anacardic acids (70%), cardol (18%) and cardanol(5%). These acids have been used effectively against tooth abscesses due to their lethality to a wide range of Gram-positive bacteria.