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Summary
How to order cashews from West Africa How the nuts are shelled and processed Technologies used Who is producing the cashews Email EnterpriseWorks Call us at (221) 991 4733 |
It requires a great deal of skill and a
sequence of specific steps to turn raw cashew nuts, with their thick,
oddly-shaped shells and interior skins, into the top-quality delicious
nuts familiar to snackers.
First, the nuts grow beneath red or yellow cashew apples, which are a false fruit formed from a thickened peduncle or stem. The fruit ranges in flavor from sweet to very astringent, and can be made into liquor, jam, dried fruit, and other products. The fruit spoils quickly. After separation from the fruit, the nuts are collected and sorted. The small ones require too much labor per unit of weight to be worthwhile to shell, so they are sold raw, while the larger ones are retained for processing. A special sorter can be used to speed the screening process. Steaming makes the shells easier to crack and remove, so the raw nuts are steamed and then dried prior to shelling. The length of steaming and drying time has to be precise for good results. 
Shelling is assisted by manual cutting machines that open
the shells. The process is best done manually, since the kernels
are delicate and have such an irregular shape. Attempts to mechanize
cashew processing lead to high rates of broken nuts, whose sale value
is considerably lower than that of whole nuts.Hands must be protected during shelling. The shells contain an acid that can damage skin. 
After the outer shell is removed, the kernels are humid
and are still wrapped by an interior skin, or testa. Humidity would
quickly lead to spoilage. The shelled nuts are cured in an oven to
reduce humidity and make the skin
easy to scrape off. Care must be taken not to scorch the
nuts in the oven, since burning also reduces the value of the finished
product.The interior skin must be removed by hand. Many processing enterprises prefer women for this delicate work, on the grounds that smaller, more coordinated fingers cause less breakage. After the skin is removed, the nuts are white and ready to eat. They still need to be categorized by size, whole vs. broken, white vs. scorched, and by other criteria that 
define the many classes of cashew kernels in the international
marketplace. Women also usually do this work.If the nuts are to be sold on the local market, they may undergo roasting and salting at this point. 
Finally, the kernels are packaged, either in small packets for retail sale, or in vacuum-sealed bulk bags for large shipments. Kernels sold in bulk are further processed and repackaged for retail sale in their destination country. |
