February Fun

A friend of ours took a bunch of us tubing...in February!!!

My first wedding in Brazil was a little different.  It was at a camp far away from everything, started one and a half hours late because none of the groom's family was there, and it rained during the entire outside wedding.  We had a good time though and the bride was beautiful.

The Story of the Cashew

Last week I saw this fruit at the store and decided it would be my new food to try.  Before coming to Brazil I did not know that the cashew was a fruit.  I learned that pretty quickly here but never tried one.  Well, it must be cashew season because they were selling these at the market.  I bought one and took it home.

Later when I decided to eat it my roommate mentioned that I should be careful with how I prepare it because she was pretty sure if I did not do it right I could poison myself.  I did not feel like consulting Google since I had just been online for a long time and was ready for a lunch break.

I tried to pull the seed off the top and it took a good amount of effort.  I finally got it off and bit down real hard on the nut...nothing.  So I tried squashing it with a fork and then a knife.  I noticed my lips and tongue were kind of burning/tingling like when you eat something spicy.  Well, I had no success accessing the nut.  I decided to try a little of the fruit and ate a mouse sized piece.  It was sweet.  I decided to eat the rest of my lunch and try again later.  Before I finished I got on Google and started reading.  It sounded like no one really enjoyed how the fruit tasted.  

To eat the cashew fruit you are supposed to just suck the juice out of it.  I read in several places that if you bite into it the taste will be very bitter.  I also read that the juice does not taste that great even if you do not bite into it.  In addition it can be made into juice, but that also does not taste amazing to most people.  Well I tried to just suck the juice out, but it was not that great so I quit.  Then I began reading about the nut.  Evidently there is some black tar like substance inside the shell that must be burned away before you can access the cashew nut.  This substance will burn your mouth, skin, tongue etc. (hmmm, now I know where the tingling came from!!)  I ended up with two little burns/cut-like things, one on my tip lip and one on my bottom lip.  One of my knuckles also got a tiny little burn.  It was nothing serious, but made me realize the intensity of the toxins within.  One article I read said this poison is actually cyanide!  Ok, so I was trying to determine how to burn away the black goo when I read that frequently the nut will also be burned.  It is a very difficult process.  A Brazilian told me that you have to cook it over a fire of some sort (bon fire/fire place etc.) and it was not something I could do in my apartment.According to another article cashews are "shelled" by cheap female labor in India.  Tonight I was talking to my dear friend who has visited the Philippines several times and she told me a little story.  Once when she was there she had some time to kill with a group of friends.  They heard about a cashew factory.  They went in to tour it and there were several "little old Philippine women" working.  Their hands were all mangled from the work.  She said they seemed happy.  "Didn't they have any kind of gloves?"  I asked.  She said no, they just used their bare hands.  I finally gave up and threw the cashew nut away night.  Now it sits in the bottom of my trash can. :(