Almonds – The Delicious & Healthy Snack!

The almond plant is classified in the genus Prunus, which also includes plums, peaches, cherries and apricots.  Prunus also includes the “Rose family.”

The Almond is closely related to the peach. They are distinguished from the other Prunus varieties by the porous seed shell. Think of a peach seed. It is oval shaped, with porous holes on its shell. Now…..think of an almond….looks quite similar….Only smaller!

There are two main types of almonds. One variety, is the commercially grown sweet almonds, which are edible, and may be eaten raw or roasted or pressed for the almond oil

The other variety is wild grown, which produces bitter almonds, which are used for almond oil…. but the raw may also yield dangerous amounts of prussic acid (a.k.a. hydrogen cyanide) which we know as a deadly poison.

The almond is native to China and the Middle East, in countries such as Iran, Israel, Turkey and Afghanistan. It also comes from India, and other Central Asian countries.

The Bible makes numerous references to almonds as an object of value and symbol of hope. We first see the mentioning of Almonds In Genesis 43:11, where a famine in Canaan prompts Jacob to ask his sons to go to Egypt to buy grain. Jacob told them, "Take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man a present, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds."

In the Book of Numbers, you can read about Almonds in a story about Aaron’s rod, which blossomed and bore Almonds.

Almonds were served as a “royalty” ingredient in breads……fed to Egyptian Pharos. Almonds were also found in the tomb of King Tut, to provide nourishment in his afterlife.

Explorers ate Almonds while travelling from countries in The Mediterranean to China where they traded Silk during the late 13th Century.

Marco Polo …..is one of history’s  explorers, who loved travelling to China…. for her culture and her Almonds.

Almond trees were brought to California, from Spain, by Franciscan Padres in the mid 1700’s. The founding of “The Missions”  in California, played an integral part of California’s history…..and is how baseball’s San Diego Padres came up with their name.

The wet,cool conditions on coastal California were not optimal conditions for growing the Almond Tree during that time. The Almond Tree loves Mediterranean climate, meaning hot, dry summers and mild, moist winters. It would take another century before the Almond Tree would be successfully cultivated….. in California.

Patience paid off….. because California is the only location in ALL of North America where Almonds are grown. Over 6,000 farmers produce 100% of the Almonds grown in California and in ALL of North America!

Almond production is California’s 3rd leading Agricultural product.  The U.S. is the world’s leading producer of Almonds with over 1.8 Million tons of Almonds being produced annually from Californ-i-a

 

NUTRITIONAL  VALUE

 

A 1 ounce (small handful) serving of almonds contains -

• Fiber: 3.5 grams.
• Protein: 6 grams.
• Fat: 14 grams (9 of which are monounsaturated).
• Vitamin E: 37% of the RDA.
• Manganese: 32% of the RDA.
• Magnesium: 20% of the RDA.

They also contain copper, vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and phosphorus.

 

Friday is “Concoction Friday,” and I’ll have a great Almond recipe to share with you!

 

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