Actually, almonds are not really nuts – in a botanical sense they are stone fruits. Almonds are harvested around september and october, whereas in Australia they are ripe and ready around march and april. Once planted, almond trees need four to five years to be fully developed to make a good harvest. Around march almond trees are in full bloom: Having very sensible flowers, the beautiful almond trees can be easily destroyed by sudden frost.

Almonds contain vitamin B and vitamin E. Per 100 grams they can deliver up to 252 mg calcium, 170 mg magnesium and 835 mg of potassium – which is much more than the average amount in any nut type.

Almonds are cultivated mainly in the US, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Morocco and Australia. The first almond trees were brought from Spain to America by franziscan monks – 200 years ago. The number of plantations increased fast – until today a big industry branch producing almonds is developing in the western region of the US.