Fruit wonders

In previous posts we discussed varieties of issues. For another couple of posts I will write some interesting facts about fruits. I just love fruits and more than eating them, I am fascinated by fruit marvels!.

Fruit that is not a fruit!

I am not posing a riddle. Some of you who are fruit savvy might have guessed. Yes, I am talking about cashew. Did you know that cashew is not actually a fruit? What we call as cashew nut is the actual fruit and the so called cashew apple is just the stem of the fruit that becomes plump and juicy!

Cashew is supposedly from South America spread by Portuguese to other parts of the world especially to India where today it supports a big industry – cashew nut industry. But it is called ‘Kaaju’ in many Indian languages as it is in Portuguese. I wonder whether Portuguese brought it to India or took it from India! There are at least two other related species wild in India, that are also recognized as cashew in some of the local Indian languages.

What is interesting is that originally the trees were planted neither for fruits nor the nuts but to prevent soil erosion on the coasts. In some South American countries the nuts were just thrown away and only the cashew apples were eaten or fermented to make wine. It was probably the Indians who found the ingenious technique to peel off the husk - that oozes corrosive juice - to take out the tasty and prized nuts. And today cashew nut industry is a major industry in India. Unfortunately, in contrast to their South American counterparts, the cashew apples are mostly discarded in India! Of course, in coastal Indian state of Goa they make a popular wine called Feni from these apples.