Process of Harvesting Cashews

I learned today why cashews are so expensive. One nut is on one fruit... and the fruits are big. We started with a pan of nuts and we had to heat them for an hour or so before we could crack the shells...

Then the nuts started "sweating" an oil and smoking... the kitchen was so smoky we were running outside to get air and then running back inside to stir the nuts. Ha, it was quite the endeavor.

And the burnt shells are finally ready for cracking!

And I was learning how to crack the shells with a hammer. Fingers, watch out!