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Cashews
The cashew, Anacardium occidentale, technically a seed, derives its English name from the Portuguese caju. The name Anacardium refers to the shape of the fruit, which looks like an upside-down heart (ana “upwards” and -cardium “heart”)
Originally native to Northeastern Brazil, the tree which is very frost sensitive is now widely grown in tropical climates for its cashew apples and nuts. The largest producing countries include Nigeria, India, Vietnam and Ivory Coast
The tree is large and evergreen, growing to 10-12m (~32 ft) tall. The fruit is a pseudocarp or false fruit. The cashew apple that appears to be the fruit or pear-shaped structure, a hypocarpium is edible, with a strong “sweet” smell and a sweet taste, although because the skin is fragile, it is unsuitable for transport.
Culinary Use
Popularly roasted, salted, sugared and chocolate covered, the cashew nut, unlike other oily tree nuts, has high starch content, making it useful for thickening water-based dishes such as soups and stews.
Cashew is commonly used in Indian cuisine. The nut is used whole or ground in curries and sweets.
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The pecan (Carya illinoinensis), is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America.
A pecan, like the fruit of all other members of the hickory genus, is strictly speaking a drupe not a nut, a fruit with a single stone or pit, surrounded by a husk.
Pecans first became known to Spanish explorers in what is now Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana. More familiar with the genus Juglans, these explorers referred to the nuts as nogales and nueces, the Spanish terms for “walnut trees” and “fruit of the walnut.”
One of the most recently domesticated major crops – commercial growing of pecans in the United States didn’t start until the 1880s.
Pecan trees may live and bear edible seeds for more than 300 years -
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The peanut, or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), is not actually a nut but a member of the legume or “bean” family. It is a small annual herb which grows up to 30cm above the ground
Probably first domesticated and cultivated in Paraguay, the oldest specimens, found in Peru, have been dated to about 7,600 years ago. The Spanish conquistadors found the ‘tlalcacahuatl’ (from which came the Spanish, cacahuate and French, cacahuète) being sold in the marketplace of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City).India and China are the world’s largest producers of peanuts, but most of their production is consumed domestically as peanut oil, so exports are less than 4% of world trade. The major producers/exporters of peanuts are the United States, Argentina, Sudan, Senegal, and Brazil. These five countries account for 71% of total world exports.
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The almond is the edible seed of the Almond tree (Prunus dulcis or Prunus amygdalus). Native to the Middle East and South Asia, Almonds were first found in an area stretching from northern India westwards to Syria, Israel and Turkey, then spreading into North Africa, Southern Europe and latterly California
The word ‘almond’ comes from the old French, ‘almande’ (now amande). In Germany, they are called Mandel; Mandorlo in Italy and Almendro in SpainThe fruit of the almond is a drupe (Typical drupes include peaches, plums, and cherries… and coconuts!), consisting of an outer hull and a hard shell with the seed (which is not a true nut) inside.
Our almonds normally come from California’s central valley. One of California’s top three agricultural exports, more than 80% of the world’s crop of Almonds is produced there (more than 630,000 metric tons in 2011)
A widely used food ingredient, almonds are also popular ingredients in skincare lotions and potions.
