‘Refuse to believe’: Australians stunned by how cashew nuts grow

It’s a nut many of us snack on – but it turns out, a huge number of Australians have no idea how this tasty treat ends up in our hands.

Australians are officially losing their minds over a little-known detail about cashews nuts.

Gold Coast man Jackson Jansen was shocked when he discovered the popular “nut” is actually a seed that grows on the outside of a specific apple variety.

After stumbling across this titbit, Jansen shared a video detailing his surprise, along with images of the common snack item growing on the outside of multiple cashew apples.

“What the f*ck is that? You’re telling me this grows in a tree, pushes out this nut and it makes cashews?,” Jansen said.

“This is not real … I feel like I’ve been lied to my whole life.”

A Gold Coast man who was shocked to learn how cashew nuts grow shared his discovery online. Picture: TikTok/Jackson Jansen

It turns out, he wasn’t alone in being in the dark about how the popular snack is harvested. Picture: TikTok/Jackson Jansen

His TikTok video quickly blew up, with many viewers declaring they were “freaking out” by the information.

“I don’t know where I thought cashews come from but it’s not that,” one declared.

“I can’t believe I made it to 23 without knowing,” another confessed.

As one joked: “I refuse to believe this. Cashews grow in the supermarket to me.”

There were also many who were aghast at the fact people didn’t already know this earth-shattering truth about cashews, sharing their untenable dismay.

“I think it’s so crazy bizarre that people don’t know all this,” one scoffed.

“I’m actually shocked people don’t know this,” another agreed.

The nut is actually the seed of a cashew apple. Picture: iStock

Cashew nuts are cased in a shell which contains a toxic oil that is harmful to humans. As a result, the healthy snack is roasted at high heat, either by steaming them in a large rotating drum or vat of boiling oil to remove urushiol remnants before they can be shelled, thoroughly dried, and peeled, Healthline reports.

These are the “raw” cashews many of us purchase from grocery stores, labelled as such because they’re free of added flavourings.

“Now you know why they’re so expensive,” one person chipped in.

“Look at how they shuck em, you’ll see why they are so expensive,” another added.

It has to be roasted at high heat and deshelled before it is safe to eat. Picture: iStock

The fact cashew nuts are technically a seed, therefore not a true nut, also didn’t go amiss – reigniting a longstanding debate about whether it is a fruit or nut among social media users.

“So, it’s a fruit then?” one questioned.

One quizzed: “Why is it called a nut when it’s a seed? I’m so confused.”

i was today years old when i learned that this is how cashews grow. pic.twitter.com/nPufY9M4Bl

— Colleen Ballinger🎗 (@ColleenB123) September 12, 2019

Interestingly, it’s not the first time the internet has gone wild for this nugget of information about how cashews make their way to our plates, with a photo of the fruit complete with a protruding cashew hanging from a tree going viral in 2019.

“I was today years old when I learned that this is how cashews grow,” the post on X, formerly known as Twitter, read.

In total, it earned almost 16,000 shares and amassed a stagger 77,500 “likes”, with many declaring it “mind blowing”.