In the Dominican Repermies, there are at least three different
trees the locals call
cajuil. The true cashew nut (
Anacardium occidentale) is their
cajuil dulce; more commonly, the mountain-apple (
Syzyguim malaccense) is called a
cajuil; and I have come across a few who use the name
cajuil espaƱol for the ackee (
Blighia sapinda), although that is not its usual
local name. What these three have in common is the similar appearance of the fruits; usually, Dominican home gardeners use the "cashew
apple," not the nut. The reason is that the nut contains a poison ivy compound which must be removed by processing before it is edible.
I have looked up cashew nut processing, and found a Peace Corps training
video at the small-factory scale, intended for Africa. But even at that scale, there appeared to be certain specialized equipment that would be cost prohibitive at the scale of a single homestead. Does anyone know of a practical way for an individual homesteader, with only a few cashew trees, to make the nuts edible?