Clean cashews. Cashew peeled raw ww320 India. Beneficial properties of cashews

What can you do to film a report about which no one has written before, especially a production one, and about something exotic. It was for this purpose that I went to Thailand - this tropical country promised to show me many interesting stories that one could only dream of. Producing pearls, growing shrimp, extracting rubber from the Hevea tree and many other reports that could be talked about on the pages of the community, unfortunately, will remain my dream - none of the above could be filmed due to many factors. The same thing happened with cashews.

However, I cannot leave aside the story about the cultivation and processing of this nut, considering how much time we spent searching for a factory for processing this exotic fruit. But first things first.

The name of this nut is strongly associated with my past work in a casino. The fact is that casino chips are divided into two types - “color” and “cash”. “Color” does not have its own denomination, it can only be played on roulette and its value can be fixed by the player himself by marking a certain color of chips as “cash”. “Cash” are chips with a certain denomination, which is depicted on this very chip. They can freely play on all tables in the casino, buy them at the cashier and exchange them for money there.
Once I had to play roulette with a player. He won and I asked; "Do you want color or cash?" To which he replied: “Come on, cashew, cashew!” That’s where this association of casino chips with nuts stuck.

But I digress a little. Upon arrival in Phuket, Valera and I velcoldin They began to look for where there is a cashew processing factory on this island. We found such information on the Internet, but it was rather sparse, there were few photographs, and for some reason tourists did not try very hard to photograph the production. Having found out the address, we went in the morning to look for this very factory. We drove for a long time, stopped at hevea plantations, some furniture workshops, shops selling elephants and other places, trying to find out from the locals where this factory was located. However, no one could clearly explain except the sellers from one store, who pointed in the right direction.

We exhaled when we saw a familiar view from one photo report dedicated to cashews. But inside we were disappointed.

It turned out to be the most ordinary store that specialized in selling various products made from the cashew nut and from its apple, on which the nut itself grows. However, we were greeted quite hospitably, treated to a cashew apple-based compote, told where the cashew factory actually is, and even allowed us to try to crack a nut.

They named us a city (I don’t remember the name), they said that it is located on the mainland of Thailand and we need to drive as much as 400 km to get there! We didn’t have the time or desire to travel that far, and besides, the question arose whether we would find the production working and whether we would be able to get there. Therefore, I had to be satisfied with what was in the store.
This is what the nut looks like without the shell; it still needs to be lightly fried.

The store had only one machine for splitting nut shells, which stood there as an attraction for tourists. Before the invention of more productive and automatic machines, this is exactly what was used, but in the factory the nut needs to be extracted faster, because there are more modern analogues.

To grow cashews on an industrial scale, you need large plantations of this fruit; there are no such plantations in Phuket, and in Thailand itself the nut is not grown in such large quantities - the country is not even in the top ten largest cashew producers. The first places are held by Vietnam (1,110 tons), Nigeria (950 tons) and India (753 tons).

Cashews grow only in tropical countries. Initially it was grown in Brazil, but gradually the production of nuts spread to 32 countries. This is what the tree itself looks like - up to 13 m in height, and in some cases up to 30 m.

In Asian countries, high-quality oil similar to peanut oil is obtained from nuts. And to get this very nut you need to crack it, of course. However, the difference between this nut and others is that under the shell there are caustic substances such as anacardic acid and cardol, which cause irritation when they come into contact with the skin. That’s why Valera cleans nuts with gloves. If you peel one or two nuts without protection, nothing much will happen, but if you crack them all day, you can say goodbye to your velvety skin.

For this reason, the nuts in the shell are first roasted, and then the shelled nuts are subjected to heat treatment so that the remaining resin evaporates. This is why cashews are never sold in shells.

I was surprised to learn that cashew shells are also used to make automobile brake pads and linings.

At the beginning of the post I said that cashews are a fruit, I didn’t make a mistake. The nut grows at the very tip of the cashew fruit, or “cashew apple,” which is actually an overgrown, juicy stalk. They look like in the photo. I myself was not able to taste them, only in the form of compote in the store. As they write in various sources, “hidden under the skin is a yellow, fibrous, very juicy, slightly astringent, sour-tasting pulp.” All that remains is to believe this definition.

The real cashew fruit develops at the very end of this apple. The nut, reminiscent of miniature boxing gloves, is covered with a double shell. The outer one is green and smooth, containing a caustic phenolic resin. The inner one looks like a dense shell, under which the edible kernel of the nut is hidden, similar in shape to a human kidney.

Cashew apples can be eaten raw, but they are also used to make jams, jellies, compotes, and alcoholic beverages. Depending on local traditions, the juice is processed or distilled. It is diluted with water and enriched with sugar to create a refreshing drink called cajuina, which is popular in Latin America. In India, fenni liqueur is made from the fermented juice of apples.

But all these delights are available only to residents of countries where this nut grows, since cashew apples are a perishable product and are not exported.

Since the beginning of the crisis, the quality of goods sold in Russia cashew nuts it started to get worse and worse. More and more of them are crushed and covered with spots: sometimes these are traces of mold, sometimes, probably, that same caustic poisonous resin contained in the shell of the nut. I also sometimes came across some wormy games. In stores you can also buy good quality cashew nuts produced by some companies, but they are quite expensive. So I turned my attention to the online store and, as usual, found a high-quality natural product there at an affordable price. I’ll tell you about it in this review. I will also supplement my review with information about the best way to fry cashews, how to soak them properly, how many of them you can eat per day and in what form it is best to do this.

And if you like almonds, then take a look at mine - it’s also available on iHerb and very inexpensive.

Organic whole "raw" cashews from the company Now Foods(released under their brand Now Real Food):

Really very good quality. They also come across with spots, but there are very few of these in the package. Basically, nuts are a treat.

It’s not for nothing that I put the word “raw” in quotation marks. Yes, the manufacturer indicated “raw” on the packaging. However, he did this, I quote: “to distinguish the product from fried cashews” - they say, it is generally accepted to do this. In reality, the nuts are pasteurized before being removed from the shell, that is, they are treated with steam to neutralize that same caustic, dangerous resin. So, in fact, Now Foods cashews are not raw in the sense that, for example, raw foodists understand it, but they are cooked.

I’ll also tell you about really raw cashews in this review.

However, they were not treated with chemicals. And these nuts organic, that is, environmentally friendly. Those available for sale in Russia often have a chemical aftertaste.

Speaking of taste. These cashews are tasty on their own and precisely because they are pasteurized. Really raw ones, as far as I know, have practically no taste - it begins to appear as a result of heat treatment. And, besides, it is better not to eat any nuts raw - they need to be either fried or soaked, or even better, sprouted. More on this a little later.

Let's talk about the price now. The cheapest option in Russia is to buy cashews at the market. At our local they are 1000 rubles per kilogram. The quality, as I already said, is seriously suffering, and of those that I bought (until I started ordering them on iHerb), I threw away up to half. Thus, the cost sometimes rose to 2000 per kg.

The price on iHerb for this product (at the time of writing this review) per kilogram is around 1500 rubles. Considering the good quality of Now Foods cashews, as well as their organic origin, I find the price quite attractive and am willing to pay it. In addition, the product from Now Foods is the cheapest of its analogues on iHerb. By the way, let me tell you about them.

Whole cashews from other manufacturers on iHerb

All cashew manufacturers are more expensive than Now Real Food. The closest analogue in cost is presented from the company Navitas Naturals- here it is on iHerb. The price is about the same, but the weight is less. It is written that they were dried at a low temperature, but “raw” is not indicated anywhere, so, apparently, the shells were also treated with steam.

Firm Wilderness Poets states that their cashews are raw, printing "living raw foods" on the packaging. However, we managed to find out that they are again treated with steam while they are still in the shell. However, according to the manufacturer, after such processing the nuts remain viable, which is why they write “raw”. The nuts come from Brazil, and Naufud's, by the way, from Vietnam.

As it happens, the only real, real raw cashews in the world are produced by only one company - Big Tree Farms. However, they do not sell them at retail in their pure form, only in the form of a snack - a mixture with raw cocoa beans, coconut nectar and Balinese sea salt (this product was previously on sale on iHerb, but then disappeared). Apparently, this is precisely because real raw cashews have virtually no taste. However, they distribute them wholesale, and supply, in particular, to the online store “Gifts of the Earth” (ex-Raw Lunch). I checked with the manufacturer - these are definitely their nuts. You can purchase from them if it is important to you that the product be 100% raw food.

Company Ojio offers to buy large selected cashew nuts. After manually extracting the kernels, Ojio sorts out exactly these for themselves and is happy to indicate on their packaging: Extra Large. Here they are on iHerb.

Well, the company sells some outrageously expensive cashews Sunfood. I don’t understand why this cost is so high. Here's their product page if you're interested. You can order them in larger containers - here. It will be a little cheaper, but still expensive. Although the reviews are good - mostly five-star.

Is there some more inorganic cashews from the company Bergin Fruit and Nut Company. But I don’t see the point in buying them, because after calculating the price per kg, it becomes clear that they are more expensive than the organic ones from Now Foods. Plus, I read in the reviews that they are by no means the best in taste on iHerb. And which are the best - you can find out only by trying everything yourself, because there are enough rave reviews for each product.

It is possible on iHerb and fried buy cashews. But for some reason it was added to everything. They just don’t like it fried in America, apparently.

In general, here is a page dedicated to cashews on iHerb. Maybe you'll like something else. Although not all the products available on iHerb contain this nut. There is no, for example, snack from Big Tree Farms, which I wrote about above, no bars and much more. And the oil ( cashew butter- pasta, Urbech in our opinion) is in a separate subsection -. Therefore, go to the “Food” section and there, in the search for the section, enter: cashew. And this is what we see: 150 products - not all of them, but some of them contain cashews, including whole or halved ones.

And if you switch the iherb.com website to English and do a similar search for the word “cashew”, even more results will appear.

Now I’ll give you some useful information about these delicious nuts.

Cashews: how to fry, soak, how much to eat per day and how best to do it

Why and why any nuts need to be fried or soaked, and not eaten raw or dried, and how to do all this correctly, and wrote in. There are also details about how to wash them, how much you can eat per day, when and how best to eat them. Here I’ll tell you about the features that relate directly to cashews.

How to roast cashews

I roast cashews in the oven at 150 degrees. I don’t turn the temperature higher - I’m careful because I don’t know what the temperature of the oil is. 10 minutes is enough to bring the nuts to the degree of roasting I need.

They are fried, or rather baked, quite evenly, which is difficult to do if you fry cashews in a frying pan.

How to soak cashews

They write that it is enough to soak raw or dried cashews for 3-4 hours to get rid (hardly completely, but at least somewhat) of inhibitors. Maximum - 6 hours, otherwise they will become completely soft and lose their wonderful taste. I don’t soak fried ones - frying also helps destroy the inhibitors.

How many cashews can you eat per day?

I also heard about another daily norm: just 10-12 pieces per day. But they were based on the high calorie content of these nuts, while I am guided by their effect on digestion and the load on the liver. Being not inclined to be overweight, I don’t count calories.

What's the best way to eat cashews?

Either chew thoroughly or chop. I make it from cashews" yogurt", grinding fruits or berries in a blender with it. It tastes best with prunes (fresh, not), a little less tasty with regular plums, including frozen ones.

I use roasted nuts for “yogurt” with prunes/plums - then it tastes with a chocolate note. I especially like this because when I started, I stopped eating cocoa products, but sometimes I crave them. And if you add carob powder to the resulting “yogurt”, the taste becomes completely chocolatey. You can also do this with chocolate persimmons.

Another delicious recipe: roasted cashews, some sweet pear and blueberries (I use frozen). It tastes like eating blueberry pie. A godsend for those who have given up baking but sometimes miss it.

Dried, unroasted cashews can be used to make “yogurt” with a variety of fruits and berries, since its taste is softer and more neutral. The main tone in this case will be set by fruits/berries, while nuts will add a yogurt consistency.

I also sometimes make vegan food from these wonderful nuts. ice cream. Ingredients: Roasted or dried cashews, coconut milk and ingredients of your choice. I use this coconut milk:

Sold inexpensively at Perekrestok, I also bought it at Ecotopia once. It has the best composition of all that I have seen in such a product: only coconut pulp and water, no thickeners, stabilizers, etc., like other brands.

I made both “chocolate” ice cream - that is, again adding carob powder, and cherry, strawberry, and I’m going to make blueberry ice cream - all from frozen berries, because it’s winter outside. In terms of fat content, it’s even more like a ice cream.

After turning all the ingredients into a homogeneous mass, put it in the freezer. Before eating the ice cream, I take it out of the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes to soften. Hearty, high-calorie yum! 🙂

Well, that seems to be all about cashews. Eat them for your health! Be sure to follow the norm.

Happy shopping!

If you have never shopped at the iHerb online store, take a look at the section. There are a number of features.

Cashew (other names are Indian nut, akaju) differs from other types of nuts with its original taste and unusual comma-shaped shape. South America, or more precisely Brazil, is considered the birthplace of cashews. It is widely used in a variety of industries and medicine. Some experts even call cashews “the food of the future,” which gives rise to certain thoughts. Indeed, what do we know about cashews, their benefits, and medicinal properties? Intrigued? In this case, this article will be useful to you.

Why are cashews sold peeled?

The fact that cashews are sold to customers without shells has a simple and logical explanation: between the shell and the shell of the nut there is a toxic substance that can cause a burn if it gets on the mucous membrane. Cashews are cleaned and heat-treated before being sent to stores. At the same time, nuts are cut only by hand.

The caustic substance found under the cashew shell is used industrially to protect the tree from rotting.

Cashew composition

The beneficial qualities of cashews are explained by its rich vitamin and mineral composition. Thus, the nut contains vitamins A, B1, B2, C, magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron, nicotinic acid, as well as unsaturated fatty acids. Cashews are rich in protein and carbohydrates.

Beneficial properties of cashews

The benefits of cashews and their healing properties are known all over the world. So, in Brazil, this nut is considered a powerful aphrodisiac and is used to treat bronchitis, flu, asthma, stomach disorders and even diabetes. Residents of the “Dark Continent” use cashew nuts for toothaches and for warts. In Panama, cashew is considered a remedy against hypertension, in Peru it is used as an antiseptic. Mexicans use it to whiten freckles and age spots, Venezuelans treat cashew sore throat.

Doctors confirm: cashew nuts can be used as an antimicrobial, antidysentery, tonic and antiseptic. Thanks to its rich composition, cashews improve brain function, enhance immunity, and have a positive effect on the functions of the intestines and stomach. By consuming cashews, you can improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system, reduce blood cholesterol levels, and increase libido. Indian nut is also useful for anemia, metabolic disorders, psoriasis, and depression.

In India, a special decoction is prepared from cashews, which is used as an antidote for snake bites.

Harm of cashews and contraindications for use

Roasted cashew nuts are absolutely harmless to human health, while raw nuts can cause severe chemical burns. At the same time, the skin becomes covered with blisters, which cause severe pain to the person.

Eating cashews is contraindicated for people with individual intolerances and allergies.

How to store cashews

Cashews should be stored in a cool, dry place in a tightly closed container. They can be stored this way for about a month. If you want to extend this period, placing cashews in the freezer or refrigerator will increase the shelf life of cashews to one year and one month respectively.

Cashew nuts are tender and buttery in taste; some may even think they are greasy, but this is not the case at all. Cashews have much less fat than other nuts: , . However, they contain more nutrients: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, starch, dietary fiber, natural sugars. Lots of B vitamins, vitamin PP and E; minerals such as: calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, selenium. It is also important that cashew nuts contain unsaturated Omega-3 fatty acids. By consuming cashews regularly, in small quantities, you can constantly fill your body with the beneficial substances it needs.

Benefits and medicinal properties of cashews.

The benefits of cashew nuts are undeniable. Japanese experts have discovered that cashew kernels contain substances that fight harmful bacteria that destroy tooth enamel. In Africa, healers also use a mixture of crushed cashew nuts to treat sore teeth and gum disease by lubricating the mouth with it. Cashew nuts in our country too recommended by dentists .

Cashews have always been considered an aphrodisiac due to their vitamin E content, which has a beneficial effect on the reproductive system of both men and women. The benefits of cashew nuts are great in the prevention of skin diseases , they are recommended for people suffering from eczema, psoriasis and other skin problems arising from metabolic disorders. Using a decoction of cashew nut shells, you can get rid of warts, dermatitis and cracks on the skin.
The benefits of cashew nuts have been confirmed in strengthening the body's immunity . If you consume cashews moderately but regularly, it is possible to normalize blood cholesterol levels. And various ailments and infectious diseases will bypass you.

Cashew nuts have: antiseptic, tonic, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties . In their homeland, cashews, nuts and their decoction are used for respiratory diseases - bronchitis, asthma, as well as influenza and other inflammations.
Eating cashews is good for heart and vascular health, diabetes and gastrointestinal disorders, and even dysentery.

Another advantage of cashews is their low allergenicity compared to other nuts. For those who suffer from anemia or malnutrition and who need to gain weight, nutritionists recommend starting to eat cashews. It's funny, but those who want to lose weight are advised the same thing - cashews are perfectly filling and digestible, thereby helping to reduce the amount of high-calorie food consumed. At the same time, you need to eat them a little, sometimes replacing them with other high-calorie dishes. The caloric content of cashew nuts themselves is 600 kcal per 100 g.
In cosmetology, the benefits of cashew nuts are also appreciated. Cashew nut oil is widely used and is used in many cosmetic products: massage creams, masks for face, body and hair .

If the skin is red due to long exposure to the sun, then you can easily deal with the problem: lubricate the affected areas of the skin with this mixture: 1 tbsp. l. cashew butter and 2-3 drops of geranium, lavender or rose oil.

Cashews are widely used in cooking. They add a piquant taste to first and second courses, salads, sauces, confectionery and baked goods. Cashew butter tastes better than peanut butter.

Cashews are the names of evergreen heat-loving trees from the Sumachy family and its fruits. The homeland of cashews is Brazil and other countries of South America. But thanks to the excellent taste of its fruit, cashew has become widespread and is currently grown in almost all countries of the world with a warm climate. The largest exporters of cashews are Brazil, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Vietnam, Thailand, as well as countries in Central and South America.

The cashew fruit consists of two parts: the fruit itself, the so-called cashew apple, and the hard-shelled nut attached to the top of the fruit.

The cashew apple is medium-sized, pear-shaped, with a yellow, orange or red skin. The apple pulp is juicy and fleshy with a characteristic sweet and sour taste.

The nuts are covered with a hard shell, under which there is a toxic oil that, upon contact with the skin, causes burns. Therefore, the nuts are shelled and subjected to special heat treatment to evaporate the oil and only after that they become completely safe. By the way, it is for this reason that they are always sold peeled.

Cashew fruits are widely used in cooking and more. Unfortunately, the taste of the cashew apple is a perishable product, so we can only enjoy the nuts of this wonderful tree.

In India, up to 25 thousand tons of such apples are harvested annually. Juice, jams, jellies, compotes, and alcoholic drinks are prepared from them. The popularity of cashew apple juice in Latin America is similar to that of orange juice in North America or Europe.

If ripe cashew fruits can be eaten fresh without fear, then with cashew nuts it is not so simple. Have you ever wondered why, unlike other nuts, cashews are never sold in shells? And all because between the shell and the shell, behind which the nut is hidden, there is a very caustic substance called cardol, which, upon contact with the skin, causes serious dermatological problems (the skin becomes covered with extremely painful blistering burns). Therefore, before going on sale, nuts are very carefully removed from the shell and shell, after which, as a rule, they undergo special heat treatment until the oil completely evaporates (even a small amount of oil can cause poisoning). This is such a responsible and, without exaggeration, dangerous process that even among experienced nut “cutters” there are frequent cases of burns from this substance, because cutting nuts is done only by hand. Under no circumstances should you try to peel cashew nuts yourself if you suddenly have the opportunity somewhere in tropical countries!

Nuts are eaten raw and roasted, they are added to various salads, sauces, snacks and confectionery products. Also, high-quality oil is obtained from cashews, similar in quality to peanut butter.

Cashew nuts are consumed both raw and roasted. Roasted cashews have an excellent sweetish taste. It is usually fried with salt, although it retains a wonderful natural flavor without salt. Cashews are used in the preparation of various dishes and confectionery products, and a thick and aromatic sauce is also made from it. Not a single nut can compare with this noble plant.

Many people try to avoid cashew nuts due to the misconception that the nuts are high in fat. In fact, they have even less fat than almonds, walnuts, peanuts, and pecans.

You should buy whole nuts: they last longer. Discard wrinkled, dried and moldy nuts. In a tightly sealed container they will keep for up to one month, and in the refrigerator for up to six months (in the freezer for up to a year). When stored in a warm place for a long time, nuts become bitter due to their high oil content.

Cashew calories

This is a high-calorie product with a high content of proteins and fats. 100 g of raw cashews contain 643 kcal. And 100 g of fried cashews - 574 kcal. The product is not advisable for people who are obese.

Nutritional value per 100 grams:

Beneficial properties of cashews

Cashew apples are rich in tannin and spoil very quickly. Therefore, in many countries, nuts are preferred. Compared to others, cashew nuts cause significantly fewer cases of allergies.

Cashews are rich in proteins and carbohydrates, vitamins B2, B1 and iron, and contain zinc, phosphorus, and calcium.

Cashews are used as an adjuvant for the treatment of anemia, dystrophy, psoriasis, metabolic disorders, and relief of toothache. Cashews normalize blood cholesterol levels, strengthen the immune system, and ensure normal functioning of the cardiovascular system.

Cashews have antibacterial, antiseptic, and tonic properties.

The use of cashew products among different peoples is interesting. For example, in Africa, cashews are used as a means of tattooing. In Brazil, cashews are considered an aphrodisiac, a remedy against asthma, bronchitis, flu, indigestion, and diabetes. In Haiti - a remedy for toothache and warts. In Mexico it is used to lighten freckles, in Panama it is used to treat hypertension, in Peru it is used as an antiseptic, in Venezuela it is used to treat inflammation of the throat, etc.

The use of cashew nuts in cooking is extremely wide: it is both an excellent independent snack and a wonderful component in salads, first and second courses, sauces and confectionery. Cashews produce butter that is more delicate than peanut butter.

Dangerous properties of cashews

Eating cashews is contraindicated in case of individual intolerance, but most often allergic reactions occur to western anacardium.

These nuts should not be consumed raw due to the presence of caustic juice under their shells, which can cause chemical burns. Commercially available cashews undergo special processing during which the liquid completely evaporates.

Oatmeal cookies can not only be bought in the store, but also baked at home. And if you add cashews to it, you get a mind-blowing dessert. The video will tell you how to prepare such a delicacy.