Cashew is the name of a tree grown in tropical climates in order to produce Cashew nuts and Cashew apples. The plant is native in the northeast of Brazil, where it is called by its Portuguese name Caju or Cajueiro. The fruit of the cashew tree is a type of small roughly boxing-glove-shaped nut. Especially within their dark green shells, Cashews contain a toxin that must be removed before they can be eaten. The so-called ’raw cashews’ occasionally available in healthfood shops have been cooked but not roasted or browned. Cashew nuts are a common ingredient in Asian cooking, for example in dishes such as ’chicken with cashews’. They can also be ground into a spread similar to peanut butter. Cashews have a very high oil content, and they are used in some other nutbutters to add extra oil. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.