What Is a Cashew? Four Key Differences from the Wax Apple Explained at Once
The cashew, also known as the chicken cashew, is the mature fruit of the cashew tree and is well loved for its high nutritional value. However, because it is a tropical fruit tree with a limited growing range, many people do not know how cashews grow. So what is a cashew? What is the difference between it and the wax apple?
1. What Is a Cashew?
1. The cashew is an evergreen tree or small shrub in the order Sapindales, suborder Anacardiineae, family Anacardiaceae, tribe Anacardieae, genus Anacardium. Its stem is upright, and the plant grows 4-10 m tall. The young twigs are yellowish brown and almost hairless. The leaves are obovate with a rounded tip and a broad cuneate base. The flowers are yellow, and the inflorescence is broad with several branches arranged in a corymb. The calyx is downy on the outside, and the petals are linear-lanceolate. It has stamens and pistils, with small ovoid anthers and an obovate ovary inside. The fruit is kidney-shaped, compressed on both sides, with a pear-shaped false fruit at the base that turns purplish red when ripe, and below it grows the kidney-shaped seed, which is the cashew we eat in daily life.
2. The cashew is a nut and the mature fruit of the cashew tree. It is rich in protein, fat, vitamin A, potassium, magnesium, iron, selenium and many other trace elements. Its protein content is twice that of ordinary grains, and its iron content is 2 times that of beef. It can effectively protect the heart, strengthen the kidneys and consolidate the constitution, beautify the skin, prevent aging, and prevent arteriosclerosis and cirrhosis, so it is very suitable for the elderly or pregnant women. However, because it is rich in oil and heating in nature, people with enteritis, bronchitis and asthma, poor liver function, or obesity had best not eat it.
3. The cashew is a tropical fruit cultivated in Taiwan, China, Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Yunnan and other places in China. Of course, it is also planted abroad in Vietnam, India, Brazil, Tanzania and other places, and the planted area is relatively large. Cashews currently eaten on the market are all cooked cashews that have undergone high-temperature processing, so raw cashews can also be eaten, but if raw cashews have undergone high-temperature processing, do not eat them, so as to avoid poisoning.
2. What Is the Difference Between the Cashew and the Wax Apple?
Difference 1, different family and genus: the cashew is an evergreen tree or small shrub in the order Sapindales, suborder Anacardiineae, family Anacardiaceae, tribe Anacardieae, genus Anacardium; the wax apple is a tree plant in the order Myrtales, family Myrtaceae, genus Syzygium.
Difference 2, different appearance: the cashew is the fruit after the cashew tree matures, and is the kernel growing at the tip of the false fruit. Its shell is generally bluish gray and its shape is like a kidney; the wax apple is like a red bell hanging on the tree, and when placed on the ground it generally resembles a lotus platform. When ripe, the fruit is red or pink.
Difference 3, different nutritional value: the cashew is rich in protein, fat, vitamin A, potassium, magnesium, iron, selenium and many other trace elements, among which the protein content is twice that of ordinary grains and the iron content is 2 times that of beef; the wax apple is rich in plant protein, vitamins, carotene, mineral elements and so on.
Difference 4, different effects: the cashew has the effects of strengthening the kidneys and consolidating the constitution, beautifying the skin, preventing aging, and preventing arteriosclerosis and cirrhosis, and is very suitable for people with heart disease, arteriosclerosis and cirrhosis, and physical weakness; the wax apple has the effects of clearing heat and reducing internal heat, moistening the lungs and stopping cough, promoting urination, and lubricating the intestines, and is very suitable for people with indigestion, stomach pain, abdominal bloating, lung-heat cough, or diabetes.
The above is a detailed introduction to what a cashew is and the differences between it and the wax apple. We hope it is helpful to everyone.