Cashew Apples!

Hello All! Happy Valentine's Day! I know I'm a few days off, but I hope the day was amazing for everyone :)
So in honor of Valentine's Day, I would like to introduce you all to a new and exotic fruit. It's slightly heart shaped, so I think it's an appropriate posting for the holiday :)  This fruit has been around for a very long time, but it is so new to me that I thought I would share it.  It's called the cashew apple.  It's beautiful and delicious! It's the fruit of the cashew tree that has just started coming into season around the south of Senegal. I'm finding this fruit all over the Kolda and Velingara markets.

Heart-shaped Cashew Apple

Cashew trees are prevalent down here in the southern regions of Kolda.  The fruit is either a reddish or yellowish color when ripe. and at the bottom of the fruit is the cashew nut (technically seed) which is surrounded by a double shell that is insanely difficult to open. I never knew that cashew trees produced fruit? I just thought they grew nuts....goes to show you how much I know about trees. :) 

The gray things on top are the cashew nut

The flavor of the fruit is hard to explain because it's so distinct and new to me.  The best way to describe it is juicy, slightly tart, tangy, and mouth drying.....yes, your mouth feels slightly dry after eating one of these.  It's unlike anything I've ever had before, but they are delicious. I'm so happy they are coming into season so I can eat them more often. You can buy a small pile (about 4 or 5 fruits) for 50CFA...not bad...and if you can somehow crack the nutshell you can eat a raw cashew nut too. If you ever see one of these traveling around I would definelty recommend trying it out. They are great! :)

Yum!! :)