Cashew Apple Utilization-Generating Wealth from Waste

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale), belonging to the family Anacardiaceae, is a major commercial horticultural crop of India. It is primarily cultivated for its nut, and widely grown in tropical areas. However, may be due to the high value of the nut, another important produce from cashew i.e. cashew apple, has been neglected all along without any utilization. Cashew apple is very tasty and is highly nutritious. It is comparable with many other tropical fruits in its nutritive value and contains more vitamin C and riboflavin. It is not commercially used in India, except in Goa where it is profitably used for the production of feni. The cashew apple, weighing about 8-10 times that of the nut, is an equally valuable produce from the crop, if it is economically exploited. Cashew apple is a pseudo fruit formed by the swollen receptacle and is highly nutritious and is a valuable source of sugar, minerals and vitamins. Ripe apple is very juicy and spongy having a unique flavour and smell. The astringent and acid principles in cashew apple produce a rough unpleasant and biting sensation on the tongue and throat, major drawback of the fruit which prevents the consumption of fresh fruits and the tannin content varies from 0.06 to 0.76g per 100 g. This in fact limits the utilization of cashew apple as fresh fruit as well as raw material in the fruit processing industry [1,2]. Hence the removal of astringency is the primary step in cashew apple processing. Large number of technologies has been developed by various research stations in India, more specifically Cashew Research Station, Madakkathara, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, Thrissur, Keralka India, for the economic utilization of cashew apple by processing it into various value added products.