Marcona Almonds

Well, this is a first.  It's always been about wines or cheeses here at the ol' blogspot but since we got in another load of Marcona Almonds, it definitely makes sense to promote them here.

In a way the almond history parallels the wine history we depicted in the recent Phoenicians post.  This time the history starts in the early Bronze Age around 3-4,000bc in Jordan where almond trees were first domesticated.  They were then propagated throughout Iran and the region on the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea called Levant.  Maybe the Phoenicians, the world's the first wine traders, got in on the ground floor of the almond business too.

There are two types of almond trees.  The older variety produces bitter fruit that actually contains cyanide.  The one that has the sweeter fruit, not surprisingly, is the variety that was propagated.  Almonds are not true nuts, by the way.  They are drupes, seeds within a larger fruit, comparable to a peach pit.  In fact, the almond tree falls into the same classification as peach trees.  

Almond trees require a Mediterranean climate of hot summers and cold wet winters and that has been the historic weather of the Central Valley of California.  California has a million acres planted in almond trees which produce 2.8 billion pounds of almonds annually, that's 80% of the world's almonds.  That production is good for an income of 4.9 billion dollars, making it California's most valuable product...but not for long.  The trees require a lot of rain and, of course, currently the state has little.  Almonds are not sustainable in the current climate so most people think the end is in sight for California almonds. 

But that's not what this post is about.  Marcona Almonds are from Spain and they are different from other types.  They are shorter, rounder, softer, sweeter and moister AND they are nutritionally dense.  They are a superfood that we will spare you chapter and verse about here.  Suffice it to say, they are packed with vitamins and minerals and may reduce heart disease by lowering LDL cholesterol.

Marcona Almonds have a butteriness in texture, aroma and flavor that works well with cheeses.  If you want to pair them with wines, Champagne and Sherries are proven affiliates.  We think white wines in general might be worth a try.