I like cashew nuts. I once read in one of Avram Davidson’s Limekiller stories, set in the fictional Central American country of British Hidalgo (http://www.avramdavidson.org/hidalgo.htm), that the cashew tree bears an edible fruit as well as a nut. The Wikipedia confirms this, with a picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashew But I’ve never seen a cashew fruit outside a picture, let alone tasted one. Have any of you? What are they like? Why are they not sold in supermarkets here?
Just as a guess, but not all fruits have a long enough shelf life to be shipped and sold.
You never see paw-paws for sale in the supermarket, and they are a North American native.
I’ve only read about cashew fruits. Technically, they’re not fruits - they’re swollen stems. The cashew nut hangs below the cashew pear (which gives you a clue as to the shape of the “fruit”).
One interesting thing about cashews is that the nuts grow inside a double-walled shell, and there is a caustic substance between the walls. I guess the plant attracts animals that consume the fruit and leave the seed.
But is there any Doper who has actually eaten a cashew fruit? Are they any good?
[QUOTE=DrFidelius]
Just as a guess, but not all fruits have a long enough shelf life to be shipped and sold.
[quote]
From that Wikipedia page:
I guess that explains it. I never knew that the cashew nut shell was a skin irritant though - sounds nasty:
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Cashew fruit contain a potent skin irritant toxin called urushiol within the dark green nut shells. This must be removed when the seed inside is processed for consumption; this is done by shelling the nuts, a somewhat hazardous process, and exceedingly painful skin burns (similar to poison ivy burns) among processing workers are frequent.
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I’m pretty sure you get paw-paws (or papayas as we call them) in supermarkets here in the UK
[QUOTE=DrFidelius]
Just as a guess, but not all fruits have a long enough shelf life to be shipped and sold.
[quote]
From that Wikipedia page:
I guess that explains it. I never knew that the cashew nut shell was a skin irritant though - sounds nasty:
I’m pretty sure you get paw-paws (or papayas as we call them) in supermarkets here in the UK
Oops - double post and skronky coding. Gah.
The term pawpaw refers to more than one species of fruit; the American one isn’t the papaya, but (IIRC) is related to the custard apples (cherimorya, soursop etc).