Cashews Kernels

The cashew (Anacardium occidentale) is served as a snack or used in recipes, like other nuts, although it is actually a seed. Originally native to northeastern Brazil, the tree is now widely grown in tropical regions, Vietnam and Nigeria being major producers.The fats and oils in cashew nuts are 54% monounsaturated fat (18:1), 18% polyunsaturated fat (18:2), and 16% saturated fat (9% palmitic acid (16:0) and 7% stearic acid (18:0). Cashews, as with other tree nuts, are a good source of antioxidants. Alkyl phenols, in particular, are abundant in cashews. Cashews are also a source of dietary trace minerals copper, manganese, magnesium and phosphorus.