Celebrate National Cashew Day on November 23

Like your favorite coffee, pizza, and your siblings, cashews have their own day to celebrate everything great about cashews! That’s right, cashew lovers. If you’re hooked on cashew flour, cashew butter, or cashew cheese, Monday, November 23 is your day! Every November 23 marks National Cashew Day, a celebratory day around the world where people can honor the simple, delicious nut.

Cashews are a popular snack all over the world, not just in the United States, where they’ve gained prominence in the last several years with the rise of vegan options featuring cashew flour, cashew cheese, and cashew butter. But, cashews have been actively traded and sold around the world since the 16th century! Discovered in Brazil, cashews made their way to India and Africa, where they are most often grown and sold now.

Cashews are widely used in Asian cuisines, particularly in Indian, Indonesian, Thai, and Chinese dishes. These mild, starchy, and creamy nuts make them versatile ingredients, which is why they are found in so many different cuisines from around the world.

Ways to Celebrate National Cashew Day

There are so many ways to celebrate National Cashew Day this coming November 23. First and foremost, you can:

Eat cashews

You may eat cashews every day like we do. We love them as a daily dose of crunch and for all the health benefits they offer. You can celebrate National Cashew Day by eating cashews every day.

Prepare a new recipe with cashews

We’ve touched on the fact that cashews are prevalent among other cuisines. Why not make National Cashew Day a good day to make a recipe you’ve never tried before? You can branch out and find an easy cashew dessert recipe from India or Pakistan to turn cashew flour into a sweet, chewy bar. And for the main course, go ahead and pick a Thai or Chinese dish that utilizes whole cashews.

Invite others to the party

While you’re making a delicious cashew-filled dinner and dessert, why not invite a few friends over? Make the party a pot-luck and invite everyone to make their own dish using cashews, cashew flour, cashew butter, or cashew cheese.

Additionally, make a splash on your social media channels by documenting your celebratory day, making sure to use the hashtag #nationalcashewday. While you’re at it, you can follow along to see how other people around the world are celebrating.

Fun Facts to Make National Cashew Day More Fun

While cooking and eating cashews will be the star of the show on this day, it’s always good to be prepared with a few fun facts to keep people interested and engaged.

1. Cashews were originally found in Brazil by Portuguese sailors.
2. The largest cashew tree in the world can be found in Brazil. Its branches spread 164 feet wide!
3. Cashew trees are technically evergreen trees.
4. Cashews began being traded and sold in the 16th century.
5. Cashew seeds grow on the end of a cashew apple- a fruit that is only consumed in countries where cashews are grown.
6. Cashews can’t be sold in their shells because of a poisonous substance found in between the shell and the nut. This substance is removed and washed off during processing, making the nuts completely safe to consume.
7. Before cashews are roasted, they are the color green.
8. “Raw cashews” is a bit of a misnomer – all cashews are partially roasted before being safe to consume.
9. The majority of the world’s cashews are consumed in India, the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands.
10. Raw cashews are 5% water, 30% carbohydrates, 40% fat, and 18% protein.
11. Raw cashews have 553 calories per 100g.
12. Cashew allergies are much less common than peanut allergies. Up to 6% of children and up to 3% of adults have allergic reactions when consuming cashews.
13. In 2019, global cashew production was over 3 million tons!

It may seem far-fetched to celebrate a nut for an entire day, but cashews provide jobs and food to billions of people around the world every day. If that’s not a reason to celebrate, what is? So mark your calendars, grab a few friends, find some fun-looking recipes, and make a whole celebration out of National Cashew Day!