🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissauan Cuisine

Doce de Cajú

Cashew Fruit Preserve

Prep Time 2 hours
Servings 8
Difficulty Medium
Calories 205 kcal

Whole cashew fruits slowly cooked in a fragrant sugar syrup with cinnamon and clove — a jewel-toned preserve that captures Guinea-Bissau famous cashew harvest.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1 Score each cashew fruit with a knife to allow syrup penetration.
  2. 2 Soak cashew fruits in salted water for 30 minutes to reduce astringency. Drain and rinse.
  3. 3 Make syrup: dissolve sugar in water over medium heat. Add cinnamon sticks and cloves.
  4. 4 Add cashew fruits to the syrup. Bring to a gentle boil.
  5. 5 Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until fruits are translucent and syrup is thick.
  6. 6 Add lemon juice in the last 5 minutes. Cool and transfer to sterilized jars.

Did You Know?

Guinea-Bissau is one of the world top cashew exporters, yet most of the nuts are shipped raw — the cashew fruit itself is the local treasure, eaten fresh or preserved.