Almond is a hardy plant, it can withstand 25 degrees of frost. Almond is one of the most drought-resistant cultivated plants. A bush or small tree can reach a height of 10 meters. Almond lives up to 130 years. Almond grows in Afghanistan, Central Asia, Asia Minor, Iran and South Transcaucasia.
It can blossom and bear fruit in any conditions, as long as there is plenty of sunlight, so you can find almonds in dry steppes and on rocky slopes. Almonds are the first to blossom, signaling the approach of spring. Blossoming almonds are an incredibly beautiful sight. They are all dressed in a beautiful white and pink outfit. Their amazing flowers cover both the trunk and the branches. The delicate aroma of almond flowers resembles the aroma of roses.
Almonds ripen in June-July, and sometimes in April. The pits are covered with a velvety dry pericarp. When ripe, they split into two valves, from which a shell appears, like a pearl from a shell. And in the shell is an almond nut – an oval white seed in a brown skin.
Sweet almonds, which are rich in fats and proteins, are widely cultivated. Ancient traces of almond cultivation date back to the 9th-6th millennia BC. The homeland of almonds is considered to be Iran – ancient Sogdiana, which was located on the territory of modern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Almonds are mentioned in Iranian sacred books, Iranian poets and sages considered almonds to be a symbol of “everything you love” – earthly goods and joys. Almonds were also considered one of the best products of the land of Canaan. In the apocalyptic of the Old Testament, almonds are called a heavenly tree with star-shaped flowers on its branches. Almonds are also mentioned in the Holy Scriptures.
In everyday life, almonds are used mainly as sweets or desserts. Confectionery made from marzipan dough (almond) was a royal delicacy in the Middle Ages. And today in the Netherlands and Belgium on St. Nicholas Day children are given marzipan fruits, and adults are given the initials of their names cut out of almond cookies – “almond letters”. Chefs make fairy-tale masterpieces from almond dough: marzipan castles with fairy-tale characters.
In some European countries, blossoming almond is considered a symbol of a happy marriage. This is what a wonderful tree is – almond. When the Israelites wandered through the desert, a staff made of almond miraculously blossomed, sprouted buds, gave flowers and brought almonds – this is what is written in the “Antiquities of the Jews”.
