Cashew nuts

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Cashew nuts



It is a kidney- or heart-shaped achene, in any normal variety. Its color varies from bottle green to grayish brown (dried fruit). It is attached to the end of a fleshy footstalk or peduncle, which is in fact the receptacle of the flower, that is, broadened and swollen, and forms the false fruit.
The cashew tree produces a soft, shiny and juicy fruit, known as cashew apple which bears a single-seeded nut in its bottom covered with a hard grey shell. This nut is the most valued product and is commonly consumed as snack or used in confectionery and cooking.
The cashew tree is large and evergreen, growing to 14 metres (46 feet) tall, with a short, often irregularly shaped trunk. The leaves are spirally arranged, leathery textured, elliptic to obovate, 422 centimetres (1+1⁄28+3⁄4 inches) long and 215 cm (3⁄46 in) broad, with smooth margins.
The mineral composition (mg/100g) of cashew nut showed potassium (27.5 ± 0.4) to be the highest, calcium (21.5 ± 0.0), magnesium (19.3 ±0.1), sodium (8.2 ± 0.2) and phosphorous (14.0 ± 0.2). Zinc and iron concentrations were lower.