The main producing area for cashews is Mozambique in Africa, with smaller amounts also cultivated in China's Hainan and Yunnan provinces. Raw cashews are sun-dried for 2-3 days until their moisture content reaches a certain level, and then they are roasted to become the cashew nuts we eat.
Compared to other nuts such as hazelnuts, walnuts, and almonds, the most prominent characteristic of cashews is their relatively high sugar content, accounting for about 25% of their total nutritional value. In contrast, hazelnuts contain 15% sugar, almonds 10%, and walnuts only 8%. Therefore, unprocessed cashews have a slightly sweet taste.[China Cuisine]
Cashews contain 47% fat and 22% protein, and they also contain vitamins and trace elements such as zinc, calcium, and iron. The majority of the fat in cashews is unsaturated fatty acids, and the linoleic acid and linolenic acid they contain can help prevent diseases such as arteriosclerosis and cerebral stroke. However, compared to other nuts, cashews have a slightly higher content of saturated fatty acids, which are less beneficial to the human body, accounting for about 20%. Among the four major nuts, walnuts have the lowest saturated fatty acid content at only 6%, while almonds have 10% and hazelnuts 7%. Therefore, the consumption of cashews must be appropriately controlled to avoid eating too many.
In addition, cashews contain multiple allergens and may cause allergic reactions in people with allergies. Therefore, people who are eating cashews for the first time should not eat too many. It is best to eat one or two, wait for ten minutes, and then continue if no allergic reaction occurs.