People are only just realising where cashew nuts actually come from: 'We've been lied to for decades'

Daily Mail​

08-06-2025

People have only just discovered where cashew nuts come from - and it's left some flabbergasted.
One woman claimed the revelation 'f****d my head up' after coming across naturally growing cashew nuts during a trip to Isla San Andres in Colombia with her husband.
The travel and wellness duo, who are the owners of organic herb company Roldan Fam, shared a video of the intriguing trip on TikTok which showed them quizzing a farmer over the origins of cashew nuts.
The man, who appeared to be local, could be seen jumping down from a tall tree while clutching a bizarre fruit that resembled a common red bell pepper.
Inside the shiny fruit was one small cashew nut - but the revelation that the popular snack even comes from a fruit at all left the couple shocked.
'What?!...That is wild!' shouted the woman.
'That's how cashews come?' asked her husband, who was equally dumbfounded.
The happy couple were not the only ones new to this information, as many took to the comments section with a bevy of questions, while one person said the world had been lied to for 'decades' about the origins of cashew nuts.
'I just learned this today' said one person.
Replying to the comment, someone else wrote: 'And I'm learning this 11 hours after you'.
'So a bag of cashews is like a whole trees worth?!' wrote one person seemingly confused.
'Mind blown cause HUH?' chimed one.
However one person couldn't comprehend what all the fuss was about, writing: 'Who is just randomly curious about cashews?'
In the video, the man obtained the cashew fruit, which resembled a bell pepper, by fetching it from a tall tree.
'See, this is the nut' said the unnamed man while pointing to a green, curved object at the top of the fruit, which he said was the cashew seed.
During his frank explanation, shouts of 'that is wild!' and 'that's how cashews come?' could be heard from the shocked couple.
Many took to the comments section with a bevy of questions, while one person said the world had been lied to for 'decades' about the origins of cashew nuts
He even told the holidaymakers that they could try it for themselves straightaway, explaining that it's 'dry but sweet'.
After trying it, the couple said it 'wasn't bad'.
The farmer added: 'If you was a singer, the best [thing] for you to eat is the fruit of the cashew.'
Cashews are actually seeds that grow from a tree, which are native to Brazil. Although it originated in Brazil, the Portuguese later took the tree to India where it started to grow there as well as other parts of Southeast Asia.
They grow in a shell that is then attached at the bottom of the cashew apple. People will pick the entire apple and then remove the cashew for consumption.
Although the cashew apple is relatively unknown, people are able to consume the fruit if they would like.
It is said to have a more bitter taste compared to that of an apple or other fruit.
Although he was able to enjoy the cashew fruit raw, the same can't be said for the nut, which is actually considered toxic in its unprocessed form.
According to Medicine.net, raw cashew nuts with their shells on contain a chemical called urushiol, which is considered poisonous.
While the simple estimation would be to simply remove its poisonous shell before enjoying them then and there, the toxic substance can seep into the underlying cashew nut as well.
Therefore cashew nuts have to be cooked - most often roasted - before consuming them.
The farmer explained this to the couple, telling them they had to 'bake it' before eating the nuts. 'Then you take the inside - the inside is the nut' he concluded.