Cashew

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Cashew (Latin Anacardium occidentale) - a fruit plant belonging to the Sumakhovye family.

Description

Cashews are evergreen trees, the trunks of which often branch incorrectly. And their crowns are so broadly spreading that their width is approximately equal to the height of the trees themselves. The alternate whole-edged leathery cashew leaves can be either ovoid or elliptical. Their width ranges from two to fifteen centimeters, and their length is from four to twenty-two centimeters.

Cashew flowers are pale green, however, in some places their color turns into colorful reddish shades. Each flower is endowed with five thin pointed petals, reaching a length of seven to fifteen millimeters. These flowers are collected either in attractive shields, or in graceful panicles, the length of which can reach twenty-six centimeters.

Cashew fruits are colored in reddish or yellow tones, their shape can be either rhomboid-oblong or pear-shaped, and they grow in length from five to eleven centimeters. A slightly astringent yellowish fibrous pulp is located under the peels. It is quite sour, but very juicy. And the nuts are at the very tips of the stalks. Their shape resembles miniature boxing gloves, and their weight reaches one and a half grams. From above, each nut is covered with a double shell: the outer shell is always green and smooth, and the inner shell resembles a shell covered with honeycomb-like cells. It is under it that the eaten nucleoli are hidden, the shape of which bears a striking resemblance to the human kidney.

Where grows

The homeland of this culture is distant Brazil. However, due to its ability to easily succumb to cultural cultivation and introduction, cashews are currently planted in almost all tropical countries. It is grown on an industrial scale in India and Iran, in a number of countries in Southeast Asia (in particular, in Vietnam, which ranks first in the world in terms of its cultivation), in the southeast and west of Africa, as well as in the south of Azerbaijan - namely from there these nuts most often end up in our stores. At the same time, India is considered to be the most important consumer of healthy nuts.

Application

The nut-like fruits of cashews are not only edible, but also extremely nutritious. It is noteworthy that not only nuts are used, but also their shells - vegetable oil, widely used in medicine and technology, with a very unusual name, I think, is extracted from them. And the overgrown stalks and receptacles, very reminiscent of pears, are eaten as fruits (they are often called pseudo-fruits).

Cashew nuts are very rich in B vitamins, which help maintain a healthy nervous system and lower cholesterol levels. In addition, these nuts have the most beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system and are one of the most powerful immunostimulating and restorative agents. They will also serve well for toothache, anemia, various metabolic disorders, dystrophy and psoriasis.

From the trunks of old and mature trees that have reached twelve meters in height, gum has been obtained since ancient times, which is actively used in the food industry, as well as in technology and medicine.

Contraindications

It is not recommended to give cashews to small children, as this can provoke allergies in them. With extreme caution, such nuts should be consumed during pregnancy, while in the first half of it you should not eat more than thirty grams of cashews per day, and in the second half of pregnancy it is better to refuse them altogether. Among other contraindications, it is worth noting bronchial asthma, diathesis and an increased tendency to allergies.

For healthy and adult people, the daily intake of cashews should ideally not exceed fifty grams.