When the cashew apples mature, they are taken from the tree limb with the seeds still attached. Then the one-of-a-kind harvesting procedure begins. The seed is manually twisted and picked out while still in its shell, then dried and steamed. It must be frozen and cooked after drying before it can be extracted from its shell. Cashews are dried and roasted after harvesting in a long process that removes harmful oils and makes the shell brittle and simple to remove.