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Explorers ate almonds while
traveling the "Silk Road" between Asia and the Mediterranean. Before
long, almond trees flourished in the Mediterranean, especially in Spain and Italy.
The almond tree was brought to California from Spain in the mid-1700's by
the Franciscan Padres. The moist, cool weather of the coastal missions, however,
did not provide optimum growing conditions.
It wasn't until the following
century that trees were successfully planted inland. By the 1870's, research and
cross-breeding had developed several of today's prominent almond varieties.
By the turn of the 20th century, the almond industry was firmly established in
the Sacramento and San Joaquin areas of California's great Central Valley.
Throughout history, almonds have maintained religious, ethnic and social significance.
The Bible's "Book of Numbers" tells the story of Aaron's rod that blossomed
and bore almonds, giving the almond the symbolism of divine approval.
The
Romans showered newlyweds with almonds as a fertility charm. Today, Americans
give guests at weddings a bag of sugared almonds, representing children, happiness,
romance, good health and fortune.
In Sweden, cinnamon-flavored rice pudding
with an almond hidden inside is a Christmas custom. Find it, and good fortune
is yours for a year.
The earliest varieties of almonds were found in China
carried by traders down the ancient Silk Road to Greece, Turkey, and the Middle
East.
Nestled between the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Pacific Coast Ranges
is California's fertile Central Valley, home to one of the oldest and most beautiful
flowering fruit trees.
Unlike other flowering fruit trees that bear edible
fruit, this tree's "pearl" is the delicious nut found inside the fruit,
the almond.
The almond is one of the most versatile nuts in the world. We
eat many varieties in many diverse forms. Almonds are delicious alone as a nutritious
snack, and they are a prime ingredient in home kitchens and in food manufacturing.
Almonds enhance virtually every food they grace with their distinctive taste and
satisfying crunch.
California is the only place in North America where almonds
are grown commercially. In the past 30 years, California's almond yield has quadrupled.
More than 450,000 acres in the lush San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys are under
almond cultivation, stretching 400 miles between Bakersfield and Red Bluff, California.
Almonds are California's largest tree nut crop in total dollar value and
acreage. They rank as the seventh largest U.S. food export. Approximately 6,000
almond growers produce 100 percent of the commercial domestic supply and more
than 70 percent of worldwide production.
Over 90 nations import California
almonds. Overseas, Germany is the largest market for almonds, consuming about
25 percent of the export crop, followed by Japan at about 12 percent. Other major
importers include the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, India and
Spain. The Pacific Rim nations are a rapidly growing market for California almonds.
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