How Come You Never See Cashews  In The Shell?

Do cashews have shells? Yes. All edible nuts have shells, but you can only buy cashews shelled. All other nuts are sold both shelled and unshelled, but if you want to see cashews in the shell, you will have to go to India, Brazil, or some other country where they are grown. You will never see them here. Why? It is illegal to import or sell unshelled cashews in the United States. That’s actually a good thing. Cashew shells are poisonous. They contain a toxic chemical called cardol. Eating just one cashew shell can cause blistering inside your mouth, and eating just a few of them can kill you!

Raw Cashews Are Not Raw.

You can find ‘raw cashews’ for sale in stores everywhere; however, this term is a misnomer. ‘Raw cashews’ aren’t raw. They are cooked, although just slightly. The only way to remove a cashew from its toxic shell is with heat. Cashew shells are removed by heating cashews with steam and then briefly boiling them in oil. It is illegal to import or sell completely raw cashews in the United States.

What Are Cashew Apples?

Cashew apples grow on cashew trees. Every cashew apple has a small crescent shaped appendage on the bottom of it containing a cashew nut. Cashew apples are sweet and delicious. Cashew growers eat a lot of them, but unfortunately, you can’t get them in the United States.  Cashew apples are only edible for 24 hours after they are picked. After that, they rot very quickly.