The term “cashews” often refer to cashew nuts that come from the cashew tree which is a tropical evergreen tree. The tree produces the cashew apple and the cashew seed (nut).
Cashew nut is eaten on its own, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter. Like the tree, the nut is often simply called cashew. Culinary uses for cashew seeds in snacking and cooking are similar to those for all tree seeds called nuts.
In 2017, Vietnam, India, and the Ivory Coast were the major producers. Cashew allergies are triggered by the proteins found in tree nuts, and cooking often does not remove or change these proteins.
