The Scene staff
Feb. 16 is National Almond Day!
The tasty nut originated in central and southwest Asia, becoming a staple food that helped sustain long journeys of nomadic tribes, according to the National Almond Day page of PartyExcuses.com.
Here’s what else I learned from the website:
“Nearly every ancient civilization used almonds. By 4,000 B.C., people were cultivating almond trees, which blossomed well in the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.
“Hebrew literature from 2,000 B.C. mentions almonds. Early references from Turkey, Romania and the Baltic peninsula also cite references to the nut. The Bible makes numerous references to almonds as an object of value and symbol of hope.
“In Genesis 43:11, for example, a famine in Canaan prompts Jacob to ask his sons to go to Egypt to buy grain. He 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.’
“King Tut took several handfuls of almonds to his grave in 1352 B.C., to nourish him on his journey into the afterlife. Persians and Arabs made a milk of almond meal and water, which they valued both as a refreshing drink and as an ingredient in other foods.”
The website goes on and on with examples of the religious, ethnic and social significance of almonds through history.
Almonds made their way to California in the mid-1800s, and today, that state is the biggest producer of almonds in the world.
In honor of National Almond Day, I’m sharing six little-known facts about almonds:
- Almonds are members of the rose family and known as, “The queen of the rose family.”
- Almonds are among the lowest-calorie nuts.
- Almonds are best for you raw or dry-roasted.
- You can make your own almond milk.
- Almonds pack quite the disease-fighting punch.
- Almonds are 100 percent reliant on wild bees and honeybees for crop pollination — no bees, no almonds.
How about a stupid almond joke? What did the almond say to the peanut before they fought? “Cashew outside!”
Finally, I wanted to share an almond recipe.
Over Christmas, I made Candied Walnuts, and they were delicious, so recently, I decided to substitute almonds and see what would happen. I shared the Candied Almonds with my family, and they loved them. Give it a try and see what you think.