Video of making cashew-shaped biscuits falsely shared as fake/artificial cashews made in Goa
Claim
How artificial kaju is made using broken and substandard cashews by some traders in Goa.
If all the cashews have same shape and size they are fake.
Rating
Explanation
A 2:19-minute video clip of a person rolling the dough, cutting cashew-shaped dough pieces, and frying it in the oil is shared widely on social media platforms with the claim that they are artificial cashews (kaju) made from broken and substandard cashews by some traders in Goa. Some of the posts with such a claim can be seen here and here.
https://twitter.com/shuklakalpesh1/status/1638087468946968576?s=46&t=kIszbQH_arRSG8kPbuGeZw
Another similar video with a similar claim was viral in 2020.
What is the truth?
This article is originally published in Tamil by Youturn on 23, March 2023.
The viral video shows the watermark “Spoons of Indore” in it. When searching for it, this video is found posted on 16, March 2023 on the Facebook page of the food-related channel ‘Spoons of Indore’ with the caption “How artificial Kaju is made”.
A similar video of cutting the rolled dough into cashew-shaped pieces using a stencil machine went viral in 2020 with the same claim.
In fact, the video is not of fake or artificial cashews. Youturn published a detailed article on it in Tamil in August 2020 that it is a fried snack prepared in the shape of cashew nuts.
These are cashew-shaped fried biscuits. This business in northern states is done on a small scale. The product needs to be fried before eating. If it is fake cashew it can be felt with the size and taste.
In the viral video, instead of a stencil machine, the person is seen cutting the dough into cashew-shaped pieces using a product that looked like a bottle cap. At the end of the video, he fries the dough and adds masala powder to it.
One of the comments in the comment section of the ‘Spoons of Indore’ Facebook post added a photo mentioning that he has made it in his house.
The playfulcooking website has a recipe for making cashew-shaped biscuits.
Conclusion
It is found that the claim that fake cashew nuts are made in Goa is a rumour. The viral video shows the making of cashew-shaped biscuits and selling them.
