Indonesia has rich biodiversity from plant food sources. There are 77 types of carbohydrate sources, 26 types of nuts, 389 types of fruits, 228 types of vegetables, 110 types of spices and seasonings, 40 types of beverages, and 1.260 types of medicinal plants. Then, food is everything that comes from biological sources of agricultural, plantation, forestry, fishery, animal husbandry, aquatic, and water products, both processed and unprocessed as food or drinks for human consumption.

Food wealth in Indonesia has not been much followed by efforts to obtain derivative products. Derivative processing is important to make optimal use of raw products, especially during over-production. Skills for processing food are a concern of Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta as a human resource development institution. Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta took the initiative to introduce the technique of fermenting cashew fruit and cashew floss (26/08/2023).

Fermentation is the process of decomposing organic compounds carried out by microorganisms that produce energy, in this case, fermentation to produce derivative products. Cashew is the choice because so far farmers only take cashew nuts while the fruit has not been used, even though there are various potencies of processed cashew nuts besides cashews, including syrup, wine, jam, floss, and taffy snack. Cashew production in Indonesia, the three largest are in East Nusa Tenggara, Southeast Sulawesi, and East Java, but the area of land until 2022 is decreasing from 555 thousand hectares to 436 thousand hectares due to the conversion of agricultural commodities and land conversion. Recorded cashew production in 2022 is 171 thousand tons (Ministry of Agriculture).

The practice of making fermented cashew nuts uses 1 liter of cashew fruit juice, 3/4 kg of sugar, and 2 liters of water. Boil these ingredients and let them until they cool completely. Next, add Fermipan. The fruit juice is kept in a modified airlock jar to enter the fermentation phase for a minimum of three weeks and later can produce as many as twelve bottles @ 250 ml of fermented cashew.

Meanwhile, cashew floss uses cashew pulp. Cashew pulp is finely chopped and steamed. The spices needed include shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, and brown sugar, then sauteed. Next, mix the spices in the chopped cashew fruit, fry, and drain using a spinner until the cooking oil is completely gone. The cashew floss product in 50-gram packaging is an alternative side dish to complement hot rice.

Processed products of wine and cashew floss are an alternative to developing the potential of cashew nuts to be promoted to commercial business and even become a competitive product. Come on, young people, improve your skills in processing local food-based products and be smart in taking business opportunities. ***