Cashews are native to north eastern Brazil, in the area between the Atlantic rain forest and the Amazon rainforest. The Tupi name acaju became caju in Portuguese and cashew in English.

The Portuguese introduced cashew to the west coast of India and east Africa in the 16th century, shortly after its discovery in 1578. Nut domestication predated the arrival of Europeans to Brazil, although international nut trade did not occur until the 1920s.

India developed more refined methods for removing the caustic shell oil, and is given credit for developing the modern nut industry.  Cashew trees were planted in India initially to reduce erosion.

Vietnam, India, Brazil, Nigeria are the main producing areas today.

Health Information

Cashew nuts provide lipids and protein and have a greater concentration of essential amino acids than many other nuts. They contain carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, iron, magnesium, zinc, vitamin A, vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, and folic acid. They have less fat than other nuts. Click here for nutrition information.