Raw cashew butter can be made out of raw cashews or processed cashews. Cashew butter is a good alternative for peanut and almond butter. The raw cashew butter producing facilities first buy raw cashews from their suppliers. Raw cashews that aren’t processed and roasted contain a toxin called urushiol, which can cause skin irritations and rashes.
Tips to make Raw Cashew Butter
In order to remove these toxins from the cashew nutshell, several stages of pre-making need to be done:
1. Cleaning the nuts of foreign matter like sand, stone, etc.
2. Soaking the cashews in the cold water
3. Adding the salt to the water to neutralize acid inhibitors
4. Rinsing the nuts to clean the cashews and remove the remaining salt
5. Drying or dehydrating of the nuts. This process can be done in various types of factory ovens or furnaces. Drying of the nuts is usually done at temperatures of approximately 60-70° C for about timespan of 12-24 hours depending on what texture of the butter is needed
After the toxins removal process, raw cashew nuts need to go through stages of:
- Roasting the nuts at temperatures of 160-175° C for half an hour.
- Cooling the cashews
Note: If cashews are bought already processed, then the stages of pre-making aren’t used.
The next operation is mashing and grinding the nuts. Employers need to monitor the whole operation from beginning to end, and they track the consistency of cashews during the grinding process, which will change from big chunks to fine grains in the first stage of this process. Later the texture of cashews gets to the paste-like texture which the cashew butter is known for. During the grinding process, some ingredients are added:
- Oil
- Water
- Salt
- Minerals
Also, the numerous preservation ingredients are added to ensure the projected lifetime of the cashew butter. At the very end of the process, salt or sugar is added depending on which type of butter is being made, sweet or salted. Small or fine chunks are added in the butter so that the butter can get that crunchy texture. There are also some types of flavored cashew butter. Honey or maple syrup is added to sweeten the cashew butter.
In the end, when the mixture is made, it is transferred through the filling machines in plastic or glass jars, and then tightly sealed. Then the jars are packed and stored in refrigeration chambers until they are exported.
How to eat Cashew Butter?
Cashew butter can be eaten just like any other nut butter:
- Spread on bread
- Straight from the jar
- On fruit slices
Butter can also be used as an ingredient when cooking all sorts off meals and desserts. Cashew nut can be used as a nut flavor or thickener. It can be used in:
- Soups
- Chicken dishes
- Pasta
- Curries