It’s foraging Friday! We’re coming into one of my favorite times of the year- Belize’s version of “Spring” where it seems like all the exotic fruit trees go wild. My mangoes are just starting to get good for eating and I’ve been seeing the occasional mami/ sapodilla or malay apple (my favorite) at the vegetable stand. Today the kids had a half day of school (and now 2-weeks of Easter Break) so I asked them to help me forage some cashews from the tree across the street. I’ve always been intimidated by DIY cashews because the raw nuts are toxic and have a caustic oil in the shell that will burn you and can potentially give off harmful fumes during the roasting process. Basically, if you don’t handle it right you’re in for a world of hurt. Yikes! But Doyle gave me loads of knowledge and a bit of confidence during his Coconut and Cashew Creole Cooking Class so now I might just try for myself. You know I love foraging and free food! Here’s what I know about Cashews:
History and Nutrition
Cashews are actually native to Central, South America and the Caribbean. In the late 1500s, Europeans introduced the trees to India and parts of Africa. I found that interesting because with most other things (sugar, rice, bread fruit, even banana and mangoes!) the introduction has been the other way- brought from New Guinea, India, Africa to the Caribbean. Anyway, cashews are a good source of healthy fat and a modest source of protein, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin K. The cashew apple, which can be safely eaten raw, has a waxy surface but the juice is sweet. Many people make the cashew apple into jams and wines and I can understand why. The trees are prolific producers of cashew fruit- they bear TONS of them and they only need to grow for 3 years until they start producing. We let so many cashews go to waste!
Found Food
Okay, I often get an idea in my head and act before it’s fully formed, or in this case- researched. Me, Mitch, and Miquel went foraging and picked a bunch of cashews from the tree but good old Google tells me that you should wait for them to drop and harvest them from the ground if your goal is roasted cashew nuts. The ones still on the tree may be shy of true readiness. Once you’ve collected a bunch of the nuts you can spread them out to dry in the sun for 3 days (I bet it will take less on my back deck where the direct afternoon sun is broiling this time of year). Once they sort of rattle in their shells you are ready to put them to the flame!
Roasting the Toxic Out
Okay, this is the part I’m scared for and haven’t attempted on my own yet. You have to basically burn the heck out of the nuts so that caustic oil between the layers releases. The toxic oil will ooze out, sputter, and burn off as a dangerous smoke so this is strictly an outdoor, open-air process. When Doyen was drum firing our cashews during the class they were smoking and popping like crazy. They’ll be charred black but after they’ve cooled you and a dozen close friends can sit around de-shelling them for the next several hours. I think this would be a fun night, akin to a crab boil, just sit around drinking beer and laboriously extracting small quantities of food. It would drive Phil mad but I’d do it!
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