The nuts called almonds are the seeds of a tree that is closely related to the peach tree. People eat almonds as a snack and also use them in cooking and baking. Almonds can be ground into a nut butter or a paste or pressed to obtain a fragrant oil. Sweetened almond paste is used in a candy called marzipan.

Where almonds grow

Almond trees originally grew wild in central and southwestern Asia, but they have been planted by people in many regions for thousands of years. Almond trees grow best in areas with cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers. The United States, Spain, Greece, Iran, and Turkey are major almond producers. Most almonds produced in the United States come from California.

Physical features

Almond trees do not grow much taller than 30 feet (9 meters). The trees have pointed, oval leaves with notched edges. They bloom in early spring. Like peach blossoms, the flowers usually have five small, rounded petals. Bitter almond blossoms are white, and sweet almond blossoms are pink. The fruits of the almond tree look like peaches at first, but they are smaller and flatter. Inside the fruit is a woody shell that protects the seed.

How almonds are grown

An almond tree produces its first fruit when it is about 4 years old. Trees can bear fruit for more than 50 years. Almond fruits become dry and leathery and split open in the summer, revealing the nut inside. The nut then begins to dry. In autumn the whole fruit typically opens completely, and the nut falls to the ground.

After the almond fruits have dried up and opened, farmers use special machines to shake almond trees and knock all the nuts to the ground. The nuts may be left to dry on the ground or may be taken to a processing plant, where they are dried in an oven. After drying, the nuts are shelled, sorted, and packed for shipment.