Good evening it’s time for our series on Food Holidays: April 21st National Chocolate Covered Cashews Day. David and Charlie like Chocolate Covered Cashews and yes, I will eat them as well but I prefer Peanuts.
Not unlike other nuts, Cashews and Chocolate get along well together. Chocolate lovers savor the combination of nutty crunch and creamy, rich Chocolate.
The Cashew is a tree from the family Anacardiaceae and its English name comes from Portuguese for the fruit of the Cashew tree “caju.” Originally native to Northeastern Brazil, there now widely grown in tropical climates for their Cashew Fruit and Nuts.
With leaves arranged spirally and a leathery texture, the evergreen Cashew tree grows up to 32 feet tall. It also often grows with an irregularly shaped trunk. The buds produce small flowers that start pale green and turn reddish, each having five slender, acute petals.
The Cashew Nutshell is toxic, so producers shell the Cashew before selling it to consumers. While many people enjoy the Cashew Nut for its buttery flavor on its own, adding chocolate makes the nuts even more enjoyable. Chocolate Covered Cashews makes a great gift during the winter holidays. However, people enjoy Chocolate Covered Cashews all year long.
Five things to know about Cashews:
- Pistachio, Mango, Cashew and Poison Ivy are in the same family. Did you know this? I didn’t and used this fact as a #HomeschoolTeachingMoment
- Cashews are native to Costa Rica and Central America. Fresh Cashew Nut has a substance inside that produces a big burn and rash in skin and mouth. At the same time this is a highly valuable product known as Cashew Nut Shell Liquid or CNSL, ingredient that have special structural features for transformation into specialty chemicals and high value polymers, this is important considering the fact this is a renewable resource, is better than synthetics.
- The Cashew Nut is different from the Cashew Apple, this last one is a kind of fruit to which it’s attached the nut, this fleshy fruit has an aroma some people love while others dislike, the most common way of preparation of this fruit is doing a tasteful juice mixed with water and sugar.
- Cashews in Costa Rica are harvested during March and April.
- A quite interesting experience is to burn in wood fire a raw Cashew Nut, this CNSL is highly flammable and while it burns produces impressive tiny explosions. Kids shouldn’t try this without parent’s supervision. Gases and fumes can also irritate, so this experiment should be done in open spaces. #HomeschoolScienceExperiment
Fun Fact:
India is the world’s largest producer of Cashews. Brazil second and Africa a distant third.
While high in fat, Cashews actually contain less fat than other mass-produced nuts, including Almond and Walnuts, and the amount of dietary fiber contained make Cashews a good food for weight loss when eaten in moderation.
Cashews have a high fat content, which means that if they’re left at room temperature, they won’t stay fresh for long.
Chocolate Covered Cashew Recipe
- cashews
- semi sweet chocolate morsels
- package peanut butter morsels
- Chili Powder and Canola Oil.
Add the chocolate and peanut butter morsels to a pan Add the canola oil and chili powder Melt the chocolate Stir in the nuts Scoop them onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper Freeze for one hour
HOW TO OBSERVE #ChocolateCoveredCashewsDay
Either make your own Chocolate Covered Cashews or purchase some to celebrate with friends and family in a party you throw.
Don’t forget Chocolate Covered Cashews make terrific party snacks. Add Chocolate Covered Cashews to trail mix or keep a dish of them by your desk to ward off the mid-day munchies.
Share your favorite Chocolate Covered Cashews recipes and bring the finished product to share.
If you celebrate this Holiday don’t forget to use #ChocolateCoveredCashewsDay to share on social media.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
