Cooking With Cashews

Although many think of cashews as a nut for baking or dipped in chocolate, it can also be added to stir-fries and salads or made into a delicious nut butter. Cashews can be a key ingredient for main dishes, side dishes, desserts, or snacks. Try cooking some cashews over low heat in unsalted butter, curry powder, salt, and cayenne.

Best Use Cashews are best used in recipes for stir-fries, curries, vegetables, salad, pasta, rice, stew, and desserts. Cashew butter is an interesting alternative to regular butter and may impress your dining guests. One of my favorite uses for cashews in right out of the bag or can! They are a great snack. Cashews are a favorite in a nut mix also.

How to care for your Cashews Store in a cool, dry place in an airtight container. Cashews can last up to six months in the refrigerator or up to a year if frozen.

Cashew Measures, Weights, and Equivalents

1 pound cashews = 3-1/4 cups
1 ounce cashews = 14 large or 18 medium nuts
6-1/4 ounce can = 1-1/3 cups.
Up Side Roasted cashews have a lower fat content than any other nut. Cashews promote good cardiovascular health, are rich in antioxidants, are high in fiber, and is in general, a very healthy snack. The Cashew's high copper content is vital in producing energy, healthy blood vessels, bones, and joints. Cashews can also lower the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes and gallstone disease. The fat content in cashews are considered good fat with a fat ratio 1:2:1 for saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated, respectively, which scientist say is the ideal ratio for optimal health. Cashews have less fat per serving than almonds, walnuts, peanuts, and pecans.

Down Side Cashews become soft in baked goods and do not keep their crunch like other nuts. Cashews can turn rancid quickly because of their high oil content; so should not be stored on the shelf.

More Info About.com, HubPages.com, OrganicCashewNuts.com, Cooking-Ingredients.com

Davee Kaplan is an expert author for EzineArticles, writes her own blog, microblogs on Twitter and Facebook, has written product critiques for Amazon, buyer/seller critiques for eBay, service critiques for ServiceMaster, and restaurant critiques for Yelp and Zagat. Davee loves to cook, write, make smoothies and juices, critique restaurants, indoor garden and dance. EatAndDance.com was started to write about healthy eating from a dancer's perspective. Davee is a world champion Salsa dancer and has been dancing for over 20 years.