Goa’s seasonal elixir: After Urrak and Feni, there's Neero

Alisha Colaco from Raia, South Goa, who runs her family-owned cashew farms and makes Neero, explains. “Cashew juice and its derivatives have been a keen recipient of this attention towards healthier foods. Neero, for immediate consumption, was always looked forward to in summer, from March to May. Its extremely limited shelf-life, and its status as a secondary by-product of the more mainstream fermentation and distillation of cashew juice meant that it was usually available only to people living on the cashew-farms or in their vicinity. Today, however, during the brief cashew season, city and village folk regularly queue up at the cashew properties with empty bottles to buy Neero. This is consumed at home, as a natural refrigerated beverage.”

Tasty? Yes. Refreshing? Yes. Nutritious? Yes. If this summer drink, ticks all the boxes, why then does Neero, not occupy pride of place in Goa, where there are cashew plantations aplenty? It's perishable and ferments easily; for this reason, there's reluctance to bottle and retail it.

Also read: Distilled once for Urrak, twice for Feni

It’s all about culture

According to Hansel Vaz, founder, Cazulo Premium Feni, Goa, feni in Goa, as opposed to cashew juice in Brazil, is a cultural thing.

Vaz says, “In Brazil, cashew juice, like other juices, is sold in tetra packs, as cashew apple for them has no other use. It is plucked in a hygienic manner from the tree, onto conveyor belts in sterile conditions, crushed using machines and the juice extracted. In Goa, it is a harvest practice to let ripened cashew apple fall on the ground, which are then picked up and collected for extraction. We do not use yeast for fermentation, so allow it to ferment naturally with microbial action. For us, cashew juice, is a raw ingredient to make feni, and cashew juice is not the intent. Neero, is meant for home-consumption and by cashew plantation workers, as a small after-work pleasure. The perishable nature of the juice and because it ferments easily, results in most cashew farmers, using it for feni and not selling it, as juice.”

Vaz opines that if people develop a taste for Neero, there would be a shortage of cashew juice for feni production.

Getting Its Due

Neero may not have gotten its due, as Feni and Urrak are better known and therefore marketable. But some cashew farmers are now investing time and energy, and experimenting to bottle and sell Neero too.

The increase in labour costs has meant cashew farmers are turning to machines like mechanical crushers and screw presses to extract the juice. Neero makers are also looking at cooling and freezing technologies to preserve the juice.

Says Alisha, “We have developed techniques that begin with selection of the fallen fruit best suited for direct consumption. It includes quickly cooling down the collected fruit and juice, using air-conditioning and freezers, to prevent the wild yeast present on the fruit from accelerating the fermentation process. Special precaution is taken for the handling and disinfection of the containers at every stage, including the final container in which it is distributed to the end-user. Our end-product... (has) a refrigerated shelf-life of about a week, versus the typical 24-hour period. It is owing to these attributes that we specifically refer to our product as clear cashew juice, rather than just, Neero.”

Health benefits of Neero

​Apart from being a refreshing elixir in summer, according to Ayurveda practitioner Maryanne Lobo, “Neero is extremely beneficial for gut health.”

Sheryl Afonso e D'Souza, clinical nutritionist, says, “Cashew apple juice – like any other fruit juice – contains carbohydrates, a source of energy. The cashew fruit is a source of vitamin C, and small amounts are present in the juice too – although immediate consumption of the juice is recommended to ensure maximum benefits. Neero, which is cashew apple juice, has proven probiotic value; this aids gastrointestinal health by ensuring a positive gut microbiome, and although in small quantities, could be a boon for those with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.”

With the growing interest, the simple juice is now commanding higher prices of around Rs 125 per litre. Next time you're in Goa for the summer, head to a cashew farm to sip sweet Neero, if you haven’t already.