Page:Foods and their adulteration; origin, manufacture, and composition of food products; description of common adulterations, food standards, and national food laws and regulations (IA foodstheiradulte02wile).pdf/382

 in connection with beans, peas, or other vegetables rich in protein, or with lean meat in order to secure a proper quantity of protein in the diet.

On account of the great abundance of the product and luxuriance of growth in the Central American states, it is evident that the banana might become a profitable source of industrial alcohol in that locality.

Cashew (Maranon) (Anacardium occidentale).—The cashew, of which the principal habitat is Cuba, is a small, oddly shaped, yellow and red fruit from two to three inches long and from 1/2 to two inches in diameter at the bottom, decreasing gradually in diameter toward the top. The seed is small and kidney-shaped and grows outside of the fruit at the lower end. The seed is regarded as poisonous until it has been roasted, due probably to the presence of hydro-*cyanic acid. After roasting it is regarded as a delectable edible. The meat of the seed of the cashew resembles the roasted chestnut, but contains more oil. The pulp is of a dull yellow color, is tough and very juicy, with an acid astringent flavor and a disagreeable odor. The fruit is not eaten raw but chiefly in preserves. The composition of the cashew is shown in the following table:

Composition of Edible Portion—85.9 percent.—

Solids,    12.84 percent Sugar,      6.76    " Acid,         .31    " Ash,         .36    "

The composition is somewhat like that of the hicaco, but the cashew contains a larger proportion of acid and hence is better suited for preserves. The sample of cashew preserves examined had the following composition:

Solids,    71.22 percent Sugar,     66.89    " Protein,      .26    " Acidity,     .08    " Ash,          .14    "

Citrus Fruits.—The term "citrus fruit" is applied to that class of fruits represented by the orange, lemon, grape fruit, and lime. In the United States extensive areas are devoted to the production of citrus fruits, and it is claimed by connoisseurs that some of the best varieties grown anywhere in the world are the products of this country. Florida and southern California are two localities where the development of the citrus fruit industry has been carried to the greatest extent. The phenomenally cold winter which occurred in Florida some ten years ago almost ruined the citrus fruit industry in that state for the time being. In the reëstablishment of it the center of production has been extended farther south than it was before. It is believed that at the present time the industry has been extended sufficiently far south in the Florida peninsula to avoid any repetition of the great disaster which ruined the citrus groves in certain portions of the state at the time mentioned. The