Interesting factoid....

So, one of the many interesting things I've learned while in Brazil are facts surrounding the cashew nut. While visiting a farmer's market, one will have many opportunities to purchase the cashew fruit. It's a wonderfully pomegranate-colored fruit. The skin is rather fragile (apparently making it difficult to transport and hence, only found in tropical regions), but has a wonderful luster that draws your eye. The pulp is quite juicy, and the fragrance reminds me of a wind on a tropical island carrying the scent of nearby trees. Despite all of these wonderful attributes, the fruit itself, taste rather dull and rubbery.

But I digress...I'm not writing about the cashew fruit...but rather about the cashew nut. The nut is actually a seed of the fruit. This seed grows from the tree first, then the fruit develops around the seed. (The nut is harvested from the green seed seen above). Since the fruit is rather crappy in comparison to its tropical cousins, the cashew fruit is actually harvested for its seed (i.e. the nut).

So, the next time your in Brazil, check out the cashew fruit....