The true cashew fruit is the nut that tops the swollen and juicy stalk we name cashew apple.

The seeds are highly nutritive, stimulating, as they contain more than 9.7% of nitrogenous substances, 5.9% of starch, and 47.13% of sweet and fine yellow oil, whose specific gravity is 0.91, that is, almost similar to that of bittersweet almond oil.

The oil contained in the shell is too corrosive. It contains carnidol, anacardic acid, and is volatile due its specific gravity of 1.014. In contact with fire, the oil ignites abruptly, and is commercially known as CNL (cashew nut liquid).

The stalk (pseudofruit) is rich in fiber and has 5 times more vitamin C than orange, besides a large amount of calcium, iron and phosphorus. A daily amount of 30 to 40 g of cashew apple provides all daily amount of vitamin C necessary to an adult. Very beautiful and desired, cashew apple was always a forbidden fruit for consumption “in natura” due its astringent flavor (tannin), and its low longevity.

The cashew apple (pseudofruit) may be consumed in natura, as vegetal meat (cashew apple meat) by replacing animal meat in a number of recipes; it may used as sweets in fruit preserves, dried, dehydrated, in ice creams and drinks like cashew apple wine, cashew apple champagne, cashew apple cold drink, cashew apple “batida”, as well as cajuina (cashew apple’s clarified juice)...

Before Itaueira Agropecuaria, all cashew fruits marketed in Brazil are equal. The CASHEW marketed by Itaueira is different.