Cashew is the common name of Anacardium occidentale, a tropical evergreen tree in the same family as pistachio and mango, native to tropical South America, that can grow as tall as 14 meters and is the source of both the cashew nut and the cashew apple. Portuguese explorers encountered the tree in the 16th century and spread its cultivation to India and other tropical regions, and in 2023 global production reached 3.9 million tons, led by the Ivory Coast and India; the nut's shell and raw seed are toxic, but the nut itself is edible once shelled and roasted or steamed. Treated cashews are eaten as a snack, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter, while the cashew apple, a light reddish to yellow accessory fruit attached to the nut, is also consumed.
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AllergenSourced to the subject's own account Origin RegionSourced to the subject's own accountTropical South America (present-day Brazil) 1 Connections
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1. Cashew (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead section
Cashews are native to tropical South America.
Wikipedia, description lead (allergen)
Cashew is the common name of Anacardium occidentale, a tropical evergreen tree
- Open Questions: When was the cashew first used by its Indigenous South American originators?
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When was the cashew first used by its Indigenous South American originators?
The source documents only the 16th-century Portuguese contact and spread of the cashew, a European-contact date, not an Indigenous first-use or domestication date; no earlier archaeological or textual attestation was found.
What would resolve this Archaeobotanical remains of Anacardium occidentale from a pre-Columbian Brazilian site, dated and published.
Cashew (Wikipedia)
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