Cashew Nut

Detailed Product Description

Cashew nuts, like all nuts, are an excellent source of protein and fiber. They are rich in mono-unsaturated fat which may help protect the heart. Cashew nuts are also a good source of potassium, B vitamins and folate. They contain useful amounts of magnesium, phosphorous, selenium and copper.

Like peanuts, cashew nuts are often salted. This added sodium content may contribute to increased blood pressure. So buy plain roasted cashew nuts without added salt. We are have larges farm land of cashew and we have both raw and dried one. we can send to any country. Nut are  any hard shelled fruit or seed of which the kernel is eaten by mankind. The cashew nut has a kidney-shaped hard shell hanging on the end of a fleshy fruit - the cashew apple.  The cashew apple is two inches  in diameter and four inches long.    At maturity the apple turns bright red or yellow.   The shell contains an oil that is highly irritating to the skin.  The kernels should be heated in their shells before they are broken open and extracted.  The caustic oil is expelled from the hard shell during roasting making the inside kernel sweet and pleasant to eat.The cashew-nut tree is a fast grower and an evergreen tropical tree. It grows to a height of 12 m. Blossoming takes place between November and January. Seedling trees flower in the third year after planting. The fruit ripens fully within 2 months.

Climatic requirements

• Cashew trees are genuinely tropical and very frost sensitive.
• The trees grow in a wide spectrum of climatic regions between the 25 �N and S latitudes.
• Although the cashew can withstand high temperatures, a monthly mean of 25 �C is regarded as optimal.
• Yearly rainfall of 1 000 mm is sufficient for production but 1 500 to 2 000 mm can be regarded as optimal.
• The cashew tree has a well-developed root system and can tolerate drought conditions. Rain during the flowering season causes flower abortion due to anthracnose and mildew.
• During harvesting, while nuts are on the ground, rain and overcast weather causes the nuts to rot or start germinating.
• Nuts germinate within 4 days when lying on wet soil.

Drying

Harvested nuts are dried in the sun for a few days. Properly dried nuts can be stored for 2 years before being shelled. Nuts are roasted to discharge the caustic shell oil and acrid fumes. Hand shelling is impossible if the shell oil has not been removed previously. Kernels must be protected from contamination by the shell oil because it would cause blisters in the mouth and throat when eaten. Before the nuts are roasted they must be soaked in waterthe moisture in the shell facilitates the rupturing of the cells containing shell oil and retaining it in the shell. Moisture makes the kernel slightly rubbery and limits breakage of the kernels. The easiest method to wet the shells is to heap the nuts into big piles and to use sprinklers intermittently. Steam may also be used.

The simplest roasting method is to heat the nuts for about a minute in an open pan with holes. Acid fumes are released and if the nuts should catch fire the flames can bedoused with water. A more efficient method is to use a slanting perforated cylinder that is rotated above a fire. The shell oil flows through the holes in the cylinder and is collected in a catch through. After the roasting process the nuts are dumped into ash or sawdust to remove the excess shell oil still clinging to the shells.

Packaging

• Kernels are dried to 3 % moisture content before they are packed.
• Drying is necessary to extend shelf life and prevent fungal and other infections.
• Dried kernels do not become rancid.
• Nut kernels of export quality are vacuum packed in tins

Proteins, the tissue builders in our system, constitutes a large proportion of cashew contents. The cashew kernel contains 21 % of vegetable protein. Nutritionally they stand on a par with milk, eggs and meat. It also contains a high concentration of much-needed amino acids.