Clearing the side yard jungle was a bit of a gamble.  I knew there were some “good” trees in there, strangulated with vines and native brush, but how was I to identify them?  We saved some of the mature, upright trees and decided to wait till they would fruit or flower.

Six months into owning our home, we visited in May of 2019.  I did my usual examination of the garden to see how it had fared unattended for months. I was stunned to see cashew nut fruit on a tree at the top of the hill.  Wow, I owned a cashew nut tree!

Everyone enjoys cashews but few are familiar with the tree, fruit, nut and the complex extraction process.  There are two parts, the fruit and the nut that is housed outside the fruit.

The fruit, which is called the cashew apple, is sweet but astringent.  It ferments easily, so it is best not to eat too much as fermentation can happen in your stomach.  In Goa, the fruit is juiced, fermented and double distilled to produce a beverage called Feni which is 40% alcohol.

My husband can have this fruit, I am not a fan.  It feels rubbery to me.

The nut grows before the fruit and is recognizable by its shape.  Apparently, the fruit is an “accessory.”

The cashew shell contains an oil that is like poison ivy.  To date, I have not shelled any of these nuts.  There is a method where you bake them in sand during which the oil seeps out.

My sister-in-law has fond memories of a Mangalorean tender cashew nut curry.  I found a recipe here, maybe one day we will make it together.