National Cashew Day is a holiday that’s observed annually on November 23rd. It’s a day that honors and celebrates the nut that’s enjoyed all over the world. This is a nut that’s full of antioxidants and trace minerals and is a popular snack food in many places. They are about 21% protein, 25% carbohydrates, and 46% fat, so they’re healthy to enjoy in small quantities. Common in South Asian and Southeastern Asian cuisine, this is also a nut that can be found in vegetarian and chicken dishes across India, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. In other words, the cashew is a nut that we think many people are going to want to celebrate on this holiday.

The History Of Cashews

Although cashews were known to native peoples for thousands of years, Europeans first visiting Brazil wouldn’t discover them until 1558. When they first discovered them, they assumed that they were inedible because of the toxicity of the shells. Eventually, they discovered that the fruit skin, and not the seeds, were what was irritating about them. The Tupi-Indians showed these early Europeans instructions on how cashews could be roasted so that the irritant found on the shells wasn’t a problem.

Europeans liked the cashew and not only ate it, but also used the fruit that surrounded the cashew to make wine. The Portuguese brought cashews back to Goa around 1560 and cashew trees were planted all over India. During the end of the 16th century through the beginning of the 17th century, cashews also spread across Africa and Southeast Asia.

Cashews would reach the U.S around 1905 or so, but didn’t gain any popularity until the 1920s. This is when the General Food Corporation started to ship them to the U.S. By the time WWII rolled around, however, cashews had become extremely popular and India was shipping over 20,000 tons annually to the United States.

Facts About Cashews

Want to learn some interesting facts about cashews? Of course, you do, otherwise, why would you be here? We’ve gathered together quite a few cashew-related facts that we think that you and everyone else reading about National Cashew Day is really going to appreciate. Let’s take a peek at them.

• The U.S consumes over 90% of the world’s cashew crop.
• Cashew trees grow best in sandy soils.
• Cashews can make gallbladder and kidney stone issues worse because they contain oxalates.
• Cashews can be made into cashew butter and cheese.

Observing National Cashew Day

National Cashew Day might sound like a nutty holiday (excuse the pun) but we think everyone is probably going to want to celebrate it. And they can begin by eating cashews right out of the can or bag or using them in their cooking. There are a ton of great dishes with cashews in them including Cream Of Cashew Pea Soup, Chicken Cashew Curry, Shrimp & Noodle Soup, Spiced Pumpkin Seed & Cashew Crunch, and Cashew Nut Nog. People can also use the hashtag #NationalCashewDay on their social media accounts to spread the word about this holiday.