Major Cashew Bummer

[Carlsbad]

Okay, so I've been eating the "raw cashews" from my local Whole Foods for months. They are one of my absolute favorite foods, and they've gotten me through a lot of cooked food cravings. But I kept hearing that cashews are heated in order to get the shells off, so they're not truly raw. I decided to buy some of the "truly raw" cashews (unshelled by hand, not heat) from David Wolfe to taste and see if my Whole Foods ones were really raw.

:eek: The David Wolfe cashews taste completely different from my Whole Foods raw cashews. They are kind of flavorless, actually, and completely unsatisfying. I soaked and dehydrated them to see if they would taste better that way. They don't. (although I may need to dehydrate them longer...) The raw cashews from Whole Foods are a completely different color than the cooked cashews, so I know they're more "live" than the cooked ones. Plus, I adore them, and I always lose weight when I eat them, even in large amounts.

So now I'm confused and torn. Do I switch to the expensive and unpalatable "truly raw" cashews, or do I keep eating my beloved, though not necessarily truly raw, cashews from WF? And why would the "truly raw" cashews be so gross? Could they be rancid or something?

[earth_sista]

wow, i've always thought that the really raw cashews tasted worlds better than regular heated cashews. the raw ones are def softer, but i think they're plenty flavorful.

i suppose they could be rancid? i don't know, though. use your best judgment.

double wow, you lose tons of weight eating cooked cashews!?!?! LUCKY YOU!

[juliebove]

I never thought I liked cashews when I had tasted the roasted ones. Waaay too oily for me. Then I bought some raw ones for my daughter. She liked the roasted ones but we discovered that she got nose bleeds whenever she ate them. Turns out they were roasted in peanut oil and she is allergic to peanuts. Gah!

Anyway... I tried the raw cashews and I liked them! Now I can't bring myself to eat any roasted nuts. I only like the taste of the raw ones.

Could it be that the ones you got are stale? Perhaps not to the point of being rancid, but just old tasting? I don't know.

You might also try soaking and dehydrating them. This can give them a different flavor and texture, although IMO it's not always better. I was eager to get some soaked and dehydrated pumpkin seeds. Then I got some and I don't like them so well. Makes them seem rather dry and too crunchy. More like roasted seeds.

[c'estlaviebelle]

I know this might be anathema, but if you like the cashews from WF, and they make you feel good, and you are losing weight, I would think to stick with it. Plus they are probably cheaper than ordering "truly raw" online... I can't afford to buy truly raw though, so although I buy raw nuts at my local HFS, there is a chance they are heat treated to remove them from the shell. But I do what I can within my means...

[pamparred]

I agree with c'estlaviebelle, use the ones from WF. If you are doing great on them then use them. I have had some raw cashews that tasted green. Didn't like them. Use and prefer the ones from WF. I also buy their raw cashew butter in the bulk section. I use it as a dip with fruit to counteract the blood sugar high. Besides, it tastes really good.

[Carlsbad]

Just an update. I did a banana search on here, and there was an awesome post from someone who did an experiment to see if the cashews that had been heat treated were still "live." They were. So I'm going back to my Whole Foods cashews. My body gives me VERY CLEAR signals when I eat something that isn't raw, and I don't get those at all from the WF cashews. Plus, the fact that I lose weight while eating them is a big argument that they aren't cooked, since cooked food puts weight on me fast. And I don't like the way roasted cashews taste, but I love the raw ones. All of this leads me to believe that the heating that removes the shells doesn't heat the nut inside to more than the allowable raw limit. So I'm going back to them, and I can't wait! Yum! I'll just use the "truly raw" ones in recipes.

[RawHeaven]

I know this might be anathema, but if you like the cashews from WF, and they make you feel good, and you are losing weight, I would think to stick with it. Plus they are probably cheaper than ordering "truly raw" online... I can't afford to buy truly raw though, so although I buy raw nuts at my local HFS, there is a chance they are heat treated to remove them from the shell. But I do what I can within my means...

I agree. Listen to your body. I mean they're still raw in a sense and come from the ground.

I actually don't stress too much over nuts. In fact, I'm starting to eat less of them altogether so it's becoming a moot issue for me. I buy the raw cashews in bulk from my natural food co-op. I would guess they're not always authentically raw and this is okay. I feel good eating them.

I am going to start buying non pastuerized almonds though and eventually I will probably try to find an authentically raw cashew source. Earlier up in this thread it was mentioned that some farmers don't go through the organic certification process so you really have to research your possibilities. I'd rather get them direct from a well known farmer who is not using pesticides you know?

It's a journey and I'm learning every day. :::sigh:::

ps I would send those cashews back to the Sunfood Nutrition people if you still have them. Maybe they were rancid. And if the second attempt resulted in bland cashews than you know that you probably just don't like them very much.

[RawHeaven]

Just an update. I did a banana search on here, and there was an awesome post from someone who did an experiment to see if the cashews that had been heat treated were still "live." They were. So I'm going back to my Whole Foods cashews. My body gives me VERY CLEAR signals when I eat something that isn't raw, and I don't get those at all from the WF cashews. Plus, the fact that I lose weight while eating them is a big argument that they aren't cooked, since cooked food puts weight on me fast. And I don't like the way roasted cashews taste, but I love the raw ones. All of this leads me to believe that the heating that removes the shells doesn't heat the nut inside to more than the allowable raw limit. So I'm going back to them, and I can't wait! Yum! I'll just use the "truly raw" ones in recipes.

Awesome! This is good to know. Thank you for sharing. :)

[earth_sista]

thanks for the update. good to know, i've been steering clear of cashews because of the issue of their "raw-ness," but maybe i'll give em a go again!