CookingDiva

What appears to be the fruit of the cashew tree is an oval or pear-shaped accessory fruit or false fruit that develops from the receptacle of the cashew flower. Called the cashew apple, better known in Central America as “jocote de marañón”, it ripens into a yellow and/or red structure about 5–11 cm long. It is edible, and has a strong “sweet” smell and a sweet taste. The pulp of the cashew apple is very juicy, but the skin is fragile, making it unsuitable for transport. It is often used as a flavor in agua fresca. The true fruit of the cashew tree is a kidney or boxing-glove shaped drupe that grows at the end of the pseudofruit. The drupe develops first on the tree, and then the peduncle expands into the pseudofruit. Within the true fruit is a single seed, the cashew nut. Although a nut in the culinary sense, in the botanical sense the fruit of the cashew is a seed…Wikipedia

I grew up with cashew trees in the backyard, they were so colorful and aromatic…we couldn’t resist to climb them and get some fruit if they were too high. We saved the nuts to roast when we had plenty and the day was sunny. I remember it was always during Holy Week when the cashew trees were in season. Right now we have some still with fruit, but it gets blemishes from the rain.
When it’s in season, you can find it almost every where: sold by street vendors, at supermarkets, etc. It is not cheap, because it labor intensive to roast them and shell them. The photo-collage is from my last cashew-roasting experience at home.
Now, you can try this easy recipe of a traditional sweet from the tropics, a well loved one!

Cocada con Pepita y Canela (Cocada with Cashe and Cinnamon)

This is a variation of my original recipe Cocada con Almendra. Check out one of my delicious new creations: Cocada Naranja - Piña (Orange - Pineapple Cocada)

***Click on image to enlarge!***
As chef, culinary educator and a believer in non-toxic agriculture, I develop my garden as a lab for freshly delicious, seasonal cooking, becoming one of my greatest joys. A friend told me not too long ago "Its garden therapy, and you are The Food Therapist !" ...with a smile I replied, it made click right away because food is what connects me with nature, bringing out my creativity in the kitchen and bringing me closer to loved ones and friends.

When I began my backyard adventure a few years ago when I had my Personal Chef Business in Sacramento, California, I knew little about gardening or growing veggies and herbs. But I learned fast, thanks to some interesting how-to guides available in the internet, textbooks and friends that have their backyard gardens for years. Two of the most important things to learn are: to learn how to nurture the soil, and how to space plants.

Today is a beautiful tropical day in Aruba, and to enjoy it at its best, we decided to take a walking tour in the old "aloe vera" field. It was oh-so-green! the trails were filled with an array of different kind of cactus, many of which I have seen before in my travels around the globe, including prickly pears of numerous kinds.

I was in cacti heaven when a friend pointed to me the misterious "Bushi." I would have never imagined such a beautiful creation. The color of the little fruit is fluorescent pink, a color not so common in nature, and it looks like a pepper, the most fiery one.

To tell you the truth, I didn't know what to think of the misterious beauty: would it be edible or just for decorating the Aruban landscape? My mouth was watering already, dreaming about the flavour hiding in the tiny pink packet. Then, my friend the expert told me that it was edible and I should try it. Wasting no time I jumped over lots of aloe vera plants and cactus, and finally reached target. Ate two. Didn't die. Wasn't hallucinogen neither. LOL!

It was too small to discover the flavor. Inside it looked like a prickly pear I have eaten in the Yucatán Peninsula, México: white pulp with tiny black seeds.

I can picture them garnishing a tropical salad or ceviche, they will look marvelous and chic!

Now the facts: The Turk’s cap cactus is ‘Bolcactus’ in Dutch and has 3 names in Papiamento; Milon di seru, Cabes di indjan but most common Bushi (Latin: Melocactus spec.)

It is not clear to which species our ‘Bushi’ belongs. That is not surprising considering the fact that on our islands alone there exist various species which look very much alike. The most common species has about 12 ribs covered with reddish brown species. When flowering the cactus starts to grow a felt-like pillow on top of which appear the small pink flowers. With each succeeding flowering period the pillow grows a bit more and some of the cacti have quite a chimney on their “heads” (The Turks cap). Formerly these plumes were used in tinderboxes. The fruit is pink to pale red and quite edible though without a distinctive taste.

Many people want to have the Bushi in their garden. The Bushi though has a very extensive root system to collect as much water as possible. Therefore, in pulling up the cactus the roots are invariably damaged and it taxes the plant to grow new ones. Because of its water conserving capabilities the cactus will not die immediately but when after a period of two years it finally dries out, it will die off. All those years you have had a dying plant in your garden. Never take Melocactus from the wild; it damages our nature and besides, it is prohibited by law. Biblioteca Nacional Aruba (Source: Our plants and trees / Bart A. de Boer)

A big hug from beautiful Aruba,

Chef Melissa