The northeast of Brazil, near the Equator is probably the area from which the cashew originates. It is likely that Spanish sailors introduced the cashew to Central America in the sixteenth century and the Portuguese colonists to its territories in East Africa (Mozambique) and India (Goa), from which its cultivation extended to Indonesia and the Philippines.

The cashew fruit consists of two distinct parts, a fleshy stalk in the form of a pear, also called cashew apple, with a brilliant yellow or red skin, which can measure from 5 to 10 cm; and a nut of greybrownish colour, in the shape of a kidney, which hangs from the lower end of the stalk or "apple" and which is the true nut called cashew, very rich in carbo-hydrates and Vitamin A. Of the stalk or "apple", juices, syrups, preserves, wine or licors are obtained. But its main commercial use is the cashew nut itself; shelled, roasted and salted forming an ingredient as snack and the confectionery industry (delicacies, chocolate .. )

The principal producing countries of cashews are India, Mozambique and Brazil.


Refuse: %
Scientific Name:  Anacardium occidentale
NDB No: 12087 (Nutrient values and weights are for edible portion)

Nutrient Units Value per 100 grams Number of Data Points Std. Error Proximates Water g 5.20 2   Energy kcal 553 0   Energy kj 2314 0   Protein g 18.22 2   Total lipid (fat) g 43.85 0   Ash g 2.54 2   Carbohydrate, by difference g 30.19 0   Fiber, total dietary g 3.3 0   Sugars, total g 5.91 2   Sucrose g 5.81 2   Glucose (dextrose) g 0.05 2   Fructose g 0.05 2   Lactose g 0.00 2   Maltose g 0.00 2   Galactose g 0.00 0   Starch g 23.49 2   Minerals Calcium, Ca mg 37 2   Iron, Fe mg 6.68 2   Magnesium, Mg mg 292 2   Phosphorus, P mg 593 2   Potassium, K mg 660 2   Sodium, Na mg 12 2   Zinc, Zn mg 5.78 2   Copper, Cu mg 2.195 2   Manganese, Mn mg 1.655 2   Selenium, Se mcg 19.9 0   Vitamins Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid mg 0.5 2   Thiamin mg 0.423 2   Riboflavin mg 0.058 2   Niacin mg 1.062 2   Pantothenic acid mg 0.864 0   Vitamin B-6 mg 0.417 2   Folate, total mcg 25 0   Folic acid mcg 0 0   Folate, food mcg 25 0   Folate, DFE mcg_DFE 25 0   Vitamin B-12 mcg 0.00 0   Vitamin A, IU IU 0 0   Vitamin A, RAE mcg_RAE 0 0   Retinol mcg 0 0   Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) mg 0.90 0   Tocopherol, beta mg 0.03 0   Tocopherol, gamma mg 5.31 0   Tocopherol, delta mg 0.36 0   Vitamin K (phylloquinone) mcg 34.1 0   Lipids Fatty acids, total saturated g 7.783 0   04:00 g 0.000 0   06:00 g 0.000 0   08:00 g 0.015 0   10:00 g 0.015 0   12:00 g 0.015 0   14:00 g 0.015 0   15:00 g 0.000 0   16:00 g 3.916 0   17:00 g 0.046 0   18:00 g 3.223 0   20:00 g 0.266 0   22:00 g 0.173 0   24:00 g 0.101 0   Fatty acids, total monounsaturated g 23.797 0   14:01 g 0.000 0   15:01 g 0.000 0   16:1 undifferentiated g 0.136 0   17:01 g 0.000 0   18:1 undifferentiated g 23.523 0   20:01 g 0.138 0   22:1 undifferentiated g 0.000 0   Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated g 7.845 0   18:2 undifferentiated g 7.782 0   18:3 undifferentiated g 0.062 0   18:04 g 0.000 0   20:2 n-6 c,c g 0.000 0   20:3 undifferentiated g 0.000 0   20:4 undifferentiated g 0.000 0   20:5 n-3 g 0.000 0   22:5 n-3 g 0.000 0   22:6 n-3 g 0.000 0   Cholesterol mg 0 0   Amino acids Tryptophan g 0.287 0   Threonine g 0.688 0   Isoleucine g 0.789 0   Leucine g 1.472 0   Lysine g 0.928 0   Methionine g 0.362 0   Cystine g 0.393 0   Phenylalanine g 0.951 0   Tyrosine g 0.508 0   Valine g 1.094 0   Arginine g 2.123 0   Histidine g 0.456 0   Alanine g 0.837 0   Aspartic acid g 1.795 0   Glutamic acid g 4.506 0   Glycine g 0.937 0   Proline g 0.812 0   Serine g 1.079 0   Other Carotene, beta mcg 0 0   Carotene, alpha mcg 0 0   Cryptoxanthin, beta mcg 0 0   Lycopene mcg 0 0   Lutein + zeaxanthin mcg 22 0