As you snack upon your giant, salty cashews over the holidays you may wish to consider the back story about how that nut found it's way to your cocktail hour.
The cashew nut is one part of a colorful red or yellow
bulbs above each cashew - botanically known as an accessory fruit. It's not a real fruit at all. That's because,
unlike an apple or a pear, it does not contain any seeds. Called the
"cashew apple" it can be eaten raw or made into jams or juice. Attached to the fruit is the nut. Yes, a single nut encased in a double shell
that contains three dangerous chemicals:
phenolic resin (used as an insecticide), anacardic acid (a serious skin
irritant) and urushiol, a substance related to anacardic acid that is also
found in poison ivy. One fruit = one nut.
Once you properly roast or heat a cashew the
toxins are neutralized. Even if you ‘raw
cashews’ have been heated enough to be safe.
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