Cashew Grades Explained: Whole, Large Pieces or Small Pieces?

Cashews aren't sold as a single, uniform product. Once the kernel is removed from its shell, it's graded and cut into different forms — whole, large broken pieces, and small broken pieces — each suited to a different job in the kitchen. The breakage happens naturally during shelling and processing, not because the nut is inferior, so all three grades come from exactly the same crop. Buying the right grade for the job saves money and gets you a better result, whether you're filling a snack bowl or blending a sauce.

Whole Cashews

Whole kernels are the top grade: intact, evenly sized nuts with no breakage. They're the natural choice when appearance and texture matter — a bowl for snacking, a garnish scattered over a curry or stir-fry, or a gift mix. Because they're handled and sorted more carefully, whole cashews sit at the higher end of the price range for cashew products. Our Raw Cashew Nuts (whole) come raw and unsalted, so you can roast, salt or season them however suits the dish.

Large Broken Pieces

Large pieces are whole kernels that have broken during processing — typically into halves or quarters. Flavour and texture are identical to whole cashews; the only difference is shape. This makes them a practical choice for baking, where the nuts will be chopped or mixed into a batter anyway, or for cooking into rice dishes, stir-fries and curries. Because grading is simpler, large pieces are usually a bit cheaper per kilogram than whole kernels. Our Raw Cashew Large Broken Pieces are a good middle ground for anyone cooking with cashews regularly rather than serving them whole.

Small Broken Pieces

Small pieces are the most cost-effective grade, made up of smaller fragments left over from processing. They're not the grade to reach for if you want an elegant garnish, but they're ideal wherever the nut is going to be broken down further anyway — blended into cashew cream or sauces, ground for a nut butter base, scattered as a crunchy topping on granola or salads, or used in baking where size doesn't matter. Our Raw Cashew Broken Pieces work particularly well for blending, since smaller pieces break down faster and more evenly than whole nuts.

How to Choose

As a rule of thumb: buy whole if the cashew needs to look good or be eaten as-is, buy large pieces if you're cooking or baking with them, and buy small pieces if you're blending, grinding, or using them purely for texture and cost efficiency. All three grades come from the same kernel, so there's no difference in taste — only in shape, appearance and price. If you're catering, running a bakery, or simply going through nuts quickly at home, mixing grades according to use is usually the most economical approach: whole for the fruit bowl, pieces for the baking tin.

One practical note for bulk buyers: broken pieces are also a sensible way to trial a new use for cashews — a sauce, a granola, a nut butter — before committing to whole kernels at a higher price point. Whichever grade you choose, keep raw cashews in an airtight container away from heat and direct light to preserve their texture for as long as possible once opened.

You'll find the full range of raw and prepared nuts, including all three cashew grades, in our Nuts and Seeds collection.