The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus Anacardium that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit.The tree can grow as tall as 14 metres, but the dwarf cultivars, growing up to 6 m, prove more profitable, with earlier maturity and greater yields. The cashew seed is commonly considered a snack nut (cashew nut) eaten on its own, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter. Like the tree, the nut is often simply called a cashew. Cashew allergies are triggered by the proteins found in tree nuts, and cooking often does not remove or change these proteins.

The true fruit of the cashew tree is a kidney– or boxing-glove–shaped drupe that grows at the end of the cashew apple.[1] The drupe first develops on the tree and then the pedicel expands to become the cashew apple.[1] The drupe becomes the true fruit, a single shell-encased seed, which is often considered a nut in the culinary sense.[1][3][8] The seed is surrounded by a double shell that contains an allergenic phenolic resin, anacardic acid—which is a potent skin irritant, chemically related to the better-known and also toxic allergenic oil urushiol, which is found in the related poison ivy and lacquer tree.

Raw cashews are 5% water, 30% carbohydrates, 44% fat, and 18% protein. In a 100-gram reference amount, raw cashews provide 553 kilocalories, 67% of the Daily Value (DV) in total fats, 36% DV of protein, 13% DV of dietary fiber and 11% DV of carbohydrates. Cashews are rich sources (20% or more of the DV) of dietary minerals, including particularly copper, manganese, phosphorus, and magnesium (79–110% DV), and of thiamin, vitamin B6 and vitamin K (32–37% DV). Iron, potassium, zinc, and selenium are present in significant content (14–61% DV). Cashews (100 g, raw) contain 113 milligrams (1.74 gr) of beta-sitosterol.

Shelf Number: 710