Cashew Reaction

Marichiesa

So I know cashews are not truly ‘raw’ even when sold as such. I rarely eat them but the other day had a hankering for ice cream. So I made a raw version with organic ‘raw’ cashew butter/nuts from a reputable dealer and almost as soon as the ice cream went down my throat, it started to close up! Yikes! It was an ichy scratchy mess.

Tonight I ate a few blended almonds to see if any thing happened and nothing did. So I tried a bit of cashew ice cream again and BAM horrble throat reaction.

Has anyone else experienced this sort of thing after being raw for some time? 7 months ago before I went raw this never happened.

writeeternity

That is really scarry and nothing to mess around with! If you do feel like you are going into anaphalactic shock you need to drink the strongest coffee you can stand, take the hottest shower you can stand to start the natural antihistamine reaction in your body. Benedryl is good but can take too long to work.

There are some reactions where you are ok the first time but the second time your body reacts twice as violently.

I don’t know if it is a garden variety nut allergy or if there is a mold on them, or a fumigant, etc. Have someone elsetry them but make sure you have some coffee and benedryl around just in case. If it happens to them you know it’s a contaminat.

I was reading about cashews the other day and they said they have to be open air when they are shipped because they will explode. So anything could get in there. I also read that a lot of imported teas are contaminated with lead.

Marichiesa

Yup, cashews are all done for me I’m afraid. Its amazing what our bodies will tell us is good/not good if we pay attention!

deegarry

I broke out with acne. I read in some books that cashews can give you an allergic reaction but not other nuts.

Marichiesa

Wow, acne? Bummer. So…have you tried any other nut in ‘ice creams’ as a base? I tried using soaked blended almonds but the consistency was too mealy. I have made versions with coconut meat or avacado and they are good just not as decadent tasting as cashew ice creams. Ah vell….

stylistchick

wow, i never knew coffee would help in a situation like that. good to know.

writeeternity

Here is some info about cashews I was talking about. http://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/ware/nuesse/cashew/...

RF Biotic activity

Cashew nuts display 2nd order biotic activity.

They are living organs in which respiration processes predominate, because their supply of new nutrients has been cut off by separation from the parent plant.

Care of the cargo during the voyage must be aimed at keeping decomposition processes at the lowest possible level, so as to keep within limits any losses in quality caused by the emission of CO2, heat and water vapor.

RF Gases

In cashew nuts/kernels (particularly when fresh), metabolic processes continue even after harvesting. They absorb oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide (CO2).

If ventilation has been inadequate (frost) or has failed owing to a defect, life-threatening CO2 concentrations or O2 shortages may arise. Therefore, before anybody enters the hold, it must be ventilated and a gas measurement carried out. The TLV for CO2 concentration is 0.49 vol.%.

RF Self-heating / Spontaneous combustion

A high cargo oil content of 45 – 50% encourages the risk of self-heating or rancidity.

Because of this tendency to self-heating/spontaneous combustion, cashew nuts/kernels may behave like substances from Class 4.2 of the IMDG Code. See also IMO Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargoes.

Fat decomposition in cashew nuts leads to the risk of self-heating and, ultimately, to a cargo fire.

Fat decomposition may proceed as follows:

by hydrolytic/enzymatic fat cleavage or by oxidative fat cleavage

Hydrolytic/enzymatic fat cleavage:

If the critical water content of the cashew nuts is exceeded, this promotes hydrolytic/enzymatic fat cleavage. Fat-cleaving enzymes are activated by the elevated water content. The additional action of light and heat may accelerate this process. Free fatty acids sometimes have an unpleasant odor and taste. In the event of extended storage or improper cargo care, these cause the cargo to become rancid.

The free fatty acids formed are consumed by respiration processes in the cashew nuts to form carbon dioxide and water, a process which is associated with considerable evolution of heat.

Self-heating of cashew nuts is an extremely vigorous process, as the consumption of fatty acids by respiration processes is associated with a considerably greater evolution of heat than is the case with the respiration equation for carbohydrates. Here too, as with cereals, the spoilage process proceeds in a type of chain reaction, because heat and water are formed by the fatty acids consumed by respiration, which in turn contribute to an intensification of the process.

The self-heating of cashew nuts requires only a small seat of moisture, so that within just a few hours heating may occur at moist points for which weeks or months would be required in goods dry on shipment.

Fresh cashew nuts with a high water content tend in particular towards rapid self-heating and may also ignite. Self-heating of cashew nuts leads not only to a reduction in the utility value of this product (rancid odor and taste) but also has a qualitative and quantitative effect on oil yield. The color and bleachability of the oils are also negatively affected. The oil obtained complicates refining of the crude oils in subsequent processing, because a higher free fatty acid content makes decolorization substantially more difficult.

Hydrolytic/enzymatic fat cleavage and respiration may be limited by low temperatures; however, this may only be affected to a limited degree during transport. It is therefore important to ensure storage stability by complying with the limit values for the water content of the goods.

Oxidative fat cleavage:

Food components frequently react with atmospheric oxygen in spoilage processes. Atmospheric oxygen may enter into an addition reaction with unsaturated fatty acids through the simultaneous assistance of light, heat and certain fat companion substances, and possibly also traces of heavy metals. Rancidity caused by oxidative fat cleavage is particularly noticeable in the case of shelled cashew nuts, because the shelling process results to a certain degree in exposure to atmospheric oxygen or to the steel parts of the ship or the container walls, if not carefully covered. It is therefore absolutely essential to store cashew nuts in the dark and to protect them from oxygen and metal parts, since otherwise they become brown-colored and develop a rancid odor and taste.

alpdesigns

The raw cashew nut is enclosed in a tough, leathery shell that contains caustic, toxic substances including cardol and anacardic acid (similar to the active ingredients of poison ivy). Despite their caustic nature, these compounds have economic value and are used in industry. Together they are extracted in processing, as cashew nut shell liquid, referred to as CNSL.

Thus the challenge in cashew processing is to separate the edible nut from the toxic CNSL. Because of this, cashews require more extensive processing than other nuts. From the raw-fooder perspective, the important points in processing are as follows. 1) Pre-conditioning: the in-shell nuts are piled in heaps and kept wet with water for 1-2 days, or the in-shell nuts are steamed for 8-10 minutes. 2) Pre-treatment: the in-shell nuts are then immersed in a hot oil bath, kept at 170-200 deg C, for about 90 seconds. The oil bath removes some of the CNSL, and conditions the nut for shelling. Following the oil bath, the nuts may be placed in a heated centrifuge for further CNSL extraction. 3) Shelling: mechanical or manual (Indian factories use mostly manual labor) 4) Drying: the kernels are dried to a moisture content of 3%, in special chambers, at 70 degrees C, for about 6 hours. 5) Peeling – manual (as needed), or other process. One process calls for freezing the kernels, then peeling them automatically in a revolving drum.