Journey of our roasted Cashew Nuts – delicious Salted Cashews and more
by KARU
What’s the KARU Cashew story?
Our founder grew up in Brazil and has been snacking on roasted cashews her entire life. Coming back from a visit to Brazil with a pack of salted cashews she decided that everyone should be able to eat these superfood snacks in the same way with their unadulterated natural taste and that's how KARU was born!
Us Brazilians have been crazy about cashews for centuries, as these nutritious nuts are native to our dry tropical forests and full of plant-based protein, vitamins, and minerals.
We started KARU in the UK to pack these flavours for you to enjoy, roasting and seasoning cashews in small batches to give an authentic taste. Experience a consciously-produced snack that is better for you. Scroll to discover what sets these cashews apart!
Shelled cashews – where do they come from?
Cashew nut trees are native to the forests in Brazil, where they grow in tropical climates (1). Cashew trees have since been brought to other tropical place across the world and are commercially cultivated (2).
The majority of cashew nuts that are cultivated for global nut consumption are now grown in West Africa and then exported to India and Vietnam for processing into shelled cashews (3). Production of cashew nuts in East and West African countries is increasing significantly but seeing that there is a lack of processing (shelling) capacity in these regions, African producers export the majority of their crops as in-shell cashew nuts to Vietnam and India.
Cashew nuts are also not all created equal, there are varying quality grades of cashews and at KARU we look to source the best quality shelled cashew nuts for you.
Toasting cashews getting to the perfect crunch from raw cashews
There are two thing that are key to the best roasted cashew nuts:
- Toasting cashews only in their own oil
- Seasoning of salted cashews with only a dusting of salt
Despite what some products advertise, cashew nuts are not eaten raw but always heated to remove the toxins from their shell (4). Unfortunately, many cashews that you buy in the supermarket are fried in oil as this is quicker and cheaper process than roasting them. Cashew nuts that get fried in oil lose some of their subtle natural flavour and take on the taste of the frying oil.
Roasting the cashews in their own oil is therefore the best way to lock in and accentuate those great aromas and create a satisfying crunchy bite. We hand roast our nuts in the UK outside of London at a professional kitchen with expertise in preparing nuts, toasting the nuts until they are golden.
Seasoning is obviously a matter of taste, but we find that a light dusting of salt accentuates the natural taste of the roasted cashew nuts. Too little seasoning can taste bland and too much overpowers the flavour of the salted cashews (pass me that glass of water!).
Love honey roasted cashews? Try our cacao salted caramel cashews!
We always enjoyed honey roasted cashew nuts and wanted to create a different vegan sweet candied nut. Enter our cacao caramel cashews!
We cover the roasted cashew nuts in a thin layer of salted caramel and toss them in dusting of rich cocoa powder. Unlike regular chocolate cashews where chocolate steals the show, these nuts only have a light coating that lets the natural taste of our quality roasted nuts stand out. A sprinkling of salt adds complexity to the flavour profile without overpowering the taste of the cashews. The sweet layer of caramel brings it together to create vegan sweets with a distinct balance of flavours. It’s a great alternative to your honey cashews!
Have you tried our KARU Cacao Cashews? It’s a candied nut that tastes different from the rest, and we hope you love it as much as we do.
Cashews made Consciously – KARU Cares
Given the journey our roasted cashew nuts have taken, we want to make sure that we protect the forests which have brought us these delicious and nutritious natural products. We therefore donate one percent of revenues to organizations that protect the forest. You can find the organizations we have chosen to support initially here. As we grow, we are looking to create impact in this way, as well as doing no harm with our recyclable pouches. KARU Cares, check it out!
Please reach out to us if you have any questions on hello@karu.co and sign up for our Newsletter to hear more about everything KARU, including special offers and promotions.
FAQ
You can order KARU online through our website by clicking below. We currently deliver to the UK. We only just launched but are also working get into stores near you.
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Yes, our production process is vegan and does not include any gluten from start to packing. Our nuts are suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
All our roasted cashew nuts are hand roasted in the UK.
We believe that the best roasted cashews are hand roasted in their own oil to create a crunch and together with a light seasoning of salt accentuate the natural flavours of the salted cashews.
Cashew nuts are not sold raw for consumption they all must be heat treated to remove the toxins that are found in the shell that covers them when they are on the tree.
Born in Brazil. Hand roasted in the UK.
- Our founder is from Brazil where cashews just taste better and with KARU we’re bringing these flavours to you
- Cashew trees and nuts originate from the Brazilian forest that KARU will also work to protect by donating one of revenues
- KARU is available in two flavours packed in 150g recyclable and resealable pouches
- KARU Cacao – Cashew Nuts with a thin coat of Cacao Salted Caramel
- KARU Cashew – Cashews roasted with a sprinkling of Salt
- KARU is full of plant-powered protein, minerals, and fibre
- It is also vegan, gluten-free and has no added oils