cashews

[Guest guest]

Hi all, I heard from sombody in my co-op today that cashews are

questionable for consumption due to the process they undergo in shelling. I had

never heard this before, however, she insisted that all cashews ( organic and

otherwise) are soaked in chemicals to help in removing them from their shell. I

personally have never seen a cashew in the shell and do not know if they are

indeed difficult to remove, but I am concerned about the validity of some

process of soaking them in chemicals. Has anyone here ever heard of this and if

so can you provide me with sources to read more about this? Thank you! Debbie

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

I have not heard of processing by way of chemicals. Here is the info I have

on the subject. I will have to do a little research to find out if any

particular companies are using chemical processing

 

One Organic Processing Method...

Source: Procaju

Raw cashew nuts are boiled in a large cauldron for 25 minutes, then sun-dried

for 48 hours, causing the nut to separate slightly from the shell for easier

processing. Processors then remove the shell, cashew by cashew, with a

foot-powered shelling machine. The kernels are spread on special cooking

screens and dried for seven hours at 170º. Along a series of tables, workers

remove a thin skin which covers the kernel, then separate the cleaned, dried

nuts into wholes, halves and broken pieces by size and quality grades. Even

the tiniest bits are gathered as a " flour " for use in pastries and

confections. Once separated and grouped in accordance with international

standards, the cashews are roasted and packed for shipping.

 

------------------------

Another Method of Processing the Cashew Kernel

Source: The Nut Factory

 

Modern extraction methods are to put the nuts in a large perforated cylinder

which rotates at a declining angle above the heat. As the nut travels down

through the roasting cylinder, the liquid flows from the shell and is

collected in troughs and commercially sold. Some kernels get scorched because

they become overheated near the bottom of the pile. These become second and

third grades in quality. As the nuts emerge from their journey, they are

water sprayed and set aside to cool and dry.

 

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[Guest guest]

A cashew shelling machine is operated by both hand and leg simultaneously .

While the leg movement pierces and breaks the shell , the hand movement

releases the kernels from the shell . Typically two people work area single

machine and two cutting machines are mounted on a single table . The blades

are specially designed to adapt to the shape of the cashew and are made of

good quality shell to last longer . These blades are riveted to the machine

body and are easy to replace or to remove and sharpen.

http://www.apnagroup.com/Cashew_Shelling_Machines.htm

 

This is an interesting article about processing. I finally understand why

cashews are so expensive :-)

http://www.fao.org/inpho/vlibrary/x0043e/X0043E06.htm Scroll to section IV.

Processing. In the article, as with most articles I found by entering

" Cashew shelling " or Cashew Processing " in Google, I found that most

processing and shelling is accomplished by hand in Sri Lanka, Mozambique and

similar places by poor women. Of those processed in industrial settings,

the preferred method seems to be roasting or steam bathing . The last line

of the article states, " (Solvent extraction can also be used to extract CNSL

from the shells.) " But it sounds as though this is not a common method and

certainly isn't the method used exclusively.

 

A good description of cashew processing:

http://www.goacom.com/tours/parvatimadhav/cashewfactory.html

 

Scroll to Cashew Nut for another processing description as well as a

breakdown of countries where processing is done:

http://www.foodnet.cgiar.org/market/Tropcomm/part2c1.htm

 

What I did happen upon in my short research above is that soybeans seem to

be processed with solvent extraction often. I'll need to look into that one

further :-) However, a solvent does not necessarily mean man-made

chemicals. A solvent is simply a liquid substance capable of dissolving or

dispersing another substance. Many things can serve as a solvent.

 

Hope this helps.

 

~Marvelyn

 

 

 

 

> Hi all, I heard from sombody in my co-op today that cashews are

questionable for consumption due to the process they undergo in shelling. I

had never heard this before, however, she insisted that all cashews (

organic and otherwise) are soaked in chemicals to help in removing them from

their shell. I personally have never seen a cashew in the shell and do not

know if they are indeed difficult to remove, but I am concerned about the

validity of some process of soaking them in chemicals. Has anyone here ever

heard of this and if so can you provide me with sources to read more about

this? Thank you! Debbie

[Guest guest]

<<I heard from sombody in my co-op today that cashews are questionable

for consumption due to the process they undergo in shelling. I had never

heard this before, however, she insisted that all cashews ( organic and

otherwise) are soaked in chemicals to help in removing them from their

shell.>>

 

Perhaps the person is confusing the fact that cashews have natural

toxins in them that make them dangerous to eat raw??

 

Liz