Ingredients
Juice
- 5 kgripe cashew apples
- 1 tbspcassava starch, for clarifying
Equipment
- muslin
- glass bottles with sealing caps
Directions
- Use only ripe cashew apples, red or yellow and strongly fragrant. Separate the nuts from the fruit and set them aside, and do not try to shell or eat them raw: the shell of a raw cashew contains anacardic acid and urushiol, the same compound as poison ivy, and it blisters skin badly.
- Press or crush the apples and strain the juice through a cloth.
- Let the juice stand for 30 minutes and skim off the foam that rises.
- Whisk the cassava starch into a little of the cold juice, stir that through the rest, and leave it somewhere cool for 4 to 6 hours. The tannins and pulp bind to the starch and settle out as a thick sediment.
- Stand the bottles in a deep pan of water, bring it up to a bare simmer, and hold them at about 90°C (195°F) for an hour. During that hour the juice turns from pale straw to deep amber.
- Cool the bottles slowly in the same water so they do not crack from the temperature shock, then store them somewhere dark.
- Serve well chilled. Unopened it keeps for months.
Technique
- No added sugar at all. Cashew apples are sweet and astringent on their own, and the clarification is what takes the astringency out.
- It is a Piauí speciality, and Brazil registered the way it is made as intangible cultural heritage in 2014.
- Cashew apples bruise within hours of picking, so this is a recipe that only really works where the trees are.
Substitutions
- Unflavoured gelatine or lightly beaten egg white in place of cassava starch as the clarifying agent.
- Bottled cashew apple juice, though it will already have been treated and will not clarify the same way.
Variations
- Served alongside a slice of bolo de rolo or a plain cake, which is the usual Piauí pairing.
- Sparkling versions, carbonated after bottling, sold in Teresina.
- The same clarification applied to other tannic tropical juices.
History
A Piaui speciality clarified and cooked until amber; Brazil registered its production as intangible cultural heritage in 2014.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cajuína?
Cajuína is a drink from Brazil: clarified cashew-apple juice, amber and still, served chilled. A Piaui speciality clarified and cooked until amber; Brazil registered its production as intangible cultural heritage in 2014.
How long does Cajuína take to make?
Cajuína takes 30 min plus 6 hr settling of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 3 litres. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Cajuína?
Yes, within limits. Unflavoured gelatine or lightly beaten egg white in place of cassava starch as the clarifying agent. Bottled cashew apple juice, though it will already have been treated and will not clarify the same way.
What is the most important thing to get right in Cajuína?
Use only ripe cashew apples, red or yellow and strongly fragrant. Separate the nuts from the fruit and set them aside, and do not try to shell or eat them raw: the shell of a raw cashew contains anacardic acid and urushiol, the same compound as poison ivy, and it blisters skin badly.
