Cashew nuts For Cooking, Ayurvedic Formulation

Processing: The processing of cashew in the orchard is mainly confines to removal of raw nuts from cashew apple and drying. Usually nuts are picked when they fall off from tree which are fully matured nuts. The apples are removed and the nuts are sun dried for 2-3 days to reduce moisture from 25% to below 9%. It is very essential to dry the nuts after harvest to prevent spoilage during subsequent storage. This helps the kernel to retain their quality, particular flavour. The mature nuts will sink in water while the immature one will float. This test could be used to find out good quality nuts.
Roasting: Roasting raw nuts is done to separate adhering shell from the kernel. There are three types of roasting viz, drum roasting , oil bath roasting and steam roasting. Steam roasting is commonly used method by most of the processing units. After steam roasting the nuts are allowed to cool for 24 hours and taken for shelling.
Shelling: Cashew nuts after roasting and cooling are to be shelled to remove kernels. One has to be very careful while shelling the nuts. Hands are to be protected from Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) which is highly corrosive. Hand gloves should be used while shelling. For the same reason it is advisable to dust the nuts with wood ash. Commercial processing units use foot operated shell cutters for shelling. The blade cut through the shell all around the nut, leaving the kernel untouched. After shelling the nuts have to be grouped in to various sizes.
Drying: The kernels after shelling will have moisture content of more than 6 percent. Drying of these kernels is necessary to prevent fungus attack during subsequent storage.
Peeling: After drying the kernels are kept in moist chamber for 24 hours which facilitates easy removal of testa (seed coat) and minimize broken kernels. Peeling is done using sharp knife or bamboo piece. Care has to be taken while removing the testa. If the kernels are scorched more it results in poor quality kernels.
Grading: Kernels are graded according to size manually. In the international market bold whole kernels fetch premium price. The grading standard developed in India refer to white whole (undamaged) kernels and indicate the number of kernels per pound of weight. The largest kernel come in the grade w210 (210 whole kernels per pound weight) and the smallest of the seven grades is W500. W180 is extra special grade. The white whole kernels are priced according to size. Further classification refers to broken kernels, butts, splits, pieces, etc.
Packing: Two 10 kg tin contains one carton.