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By: Ikedi Ani-okoye.

Almonds

The dictionary defines an almond as the kernel of the fruit of a tree. But Silk Road traders thought of almonds as a portable and tasty food source. Many cultures, including the Romans, reserved almonds for celebrations. Today, many of us prepare holiday recipes that contain almonds.

Almond facts

hen we eat an almond nut, we are technically eating the seed of the fruit from the almond tree. The almond nut is off white in colour and oval in shape, it is covered by a thin brownish skin and then the hard shell. There are two types of almond, sweet and bitter almond; it is the sweet almond that we eat. Bitter almonds are used for almond oil and it is this oil which is famously used in the liqueur Amaretto.

Almonds are thought to originally come from the regions of western Asia and North Africa; they are an ancient food which has been eaten since ancient Greek and Roman times. Almonds are now typically cultivated in the Mediterranean countries and also in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Morocco and also in the American state of California.

Calcium in Almonds

To make them a good source of calcium, almonds can be added to a lot of dishes, especially desserts. A mixture of roasted almonds, dates, whipped cream and banana is a delicious treat. Many other recipes can also be employed to not only savor the great taste of almonds, but also obtain adequate amounts of calcium and other nutrients.

Almond History

Almonds come with a long and rich history. Almonds are mentioned in the book of Numbers which dates back to around 1400 BC. Then around 300BC explorers traveling along the “Silk Road” between Asia and the Mediterranean brought along almonds to eat. These explorers consequently began to grow almonds in such new regions as Morocco, Greece, Israel, Italy and Spain.

During Roman times almonds were considered to be a fertility charm. Maybe ancient Romans new of the nutritional value of almonds and figured it couldn’t hurt with fertility.

CONCLUSION

The almond, which we think of as a nut, is actually the seed of the fruit from the almond tree. The almond is related to the peach, but the fruit toughens into a leathery coat, called the hull, which contains the shell and the edible kernel. Unlike the peach pit, the almond kernel is not only edible, but also quite nutritious.