Almonds - As I was out walking - Day 1

I am writing about the food I see growing or being harvested while I am out on my morning walk in Andalucia, Spain.

This morning I saw many people busy in the fields gathering almonds.

They lay down black netting and bring down the almonds from the branches using long sticks or simply by shaking the tree.

It is a labour intensive job, but perhaps not as labour intensive as it is for many of the women in my village who sit for day after day peeling the almonds.

While some locals have a machine that does this job in far less time, the majority of landowners in my part of Andalucia do not have such luxuries.

Instead, for them, it means weeks of sitting on hard chairs doing the job by hand. Just as their parents did before them.

Around 300.000 tons of almonds are harvested in Spain each year. The majority of which are exported.
The trees, which produce a beautiful blossom in spring, require only hard and dry land. Their roots extend deep into the ground and gather their own moisture. Farmers and landowners do not need to water them.

Almond trees are grown from the bitter almond. The younger trees have a smooth and light brown trunk. As the years progress, it becomes darker and more knarled.

There are many varieties of almond tree and they grown across many provinces in Spain, including Andalucia, Valencia and Catalunya.
The Largueta and Planeta almond trees grow all over the country.

When the fruit is ripe its external, hairy fruit layer slits open and the almond kernel appears.

August and September are the busy months for harvesting. It is the almond kernels that are thereafter painstakingly broken out of their shells. For years now I have seen my neighbours undertake this laborious task and it is almost always the women doing the job.
Only two neighbours have the noisy but mesmerising machine that undertakes the same task with speed and efficiency.

Almonds are used in many recipes, some of which appear on this site. Almonds are often used as appetizers in bars or for when friends visit you at home. A bit different, I am told by my neighbour Miguel, from the days when he was young and a plate of almonds would be a high in protein meal in itself.
“That’s all I had when I got home from school on many days. It was all my family could afford” he tells me.

Almonds are indeed high in nutrients. They are 54% fat and contain iron, calcium and vitamin B.
In just two almonds you will have the same level of linoleic acid as in over 1 litre of milk. This fatty acid is proven to be beneficial to the heart and circulatory system.

The actual fruit of the bitter almond tree should not be eaten as it is poisonous. However, bitter almond oil is used in cosmetics and drugs.
Sweet almond oil is also used in cosmetics such as soap and perfume.

Almonds are eaten in Spain salted, coated with a layer of sugar or – my favourite – roasted.

In cooking they are great with certain fish dishes and for sauces. On this site there are recipes that sees rabbit and fish cooked in an almond sauce. And delicious recipes for beef or chicken served with almonds.
One of my favourite meals in Spain is a simple one. Potatoes with almonds and saffron.

And then, of course, there is the Christmas time favourite in Spain, Turrón. Along with the cakes, marzipan and cookies without which the Spanish could not survive one week.

This morning I saw a man carrying on his back a sack of almonds the weight of which seemed to be burying him into the ground, little by little. I saw his wife laying out the nets and his sons climbing trees, knocking the almonds from their perch.
On a one hour walk I saw so very many families repeating this annual chore. And yet, to them, it is not a chore. It is income. Valuable and reliable annual income which makes a significant difference to their lives.

When I used to see almonds in a UK grocers or supermarket, I had no idea what hard work went into harvesting them.
A friend has helped out a neighbour of mine with the harvesting this year. His reward for his efforts is hundreds and hundreds of almonds. Many of which have been handed to me and sit staring at me as I write.

Safe to say I shall be cracking almonds for many weeks to come. And using them in Spanish recipes long after that.

These days in Spain less and less food comes to you free of charge. So when it does, one is duty bound to make best use of such offerings.

I shall be doing just that from now until Christmas.