almonds

04/13

ThisisoneinaseriesoffactsheetscomposedbytheCaliforniaFoundationforAgricultureintheClassroom(CFAITC).Foradditionaleducationalmaterials:CFAITC,2300RiverPlazaDrive,Sacramento,CA95833-3293(916)561-5625 (800)700-AITC Fax:(916)561-5697Email:info@learnaboutag.org Website:www.LearnAboutAg.org ©2011CaliforniaFoundationforAgricultureintheClassroom.Allrightsreserved.

Commodity Fact Sheet

AlmondsInformation compiled by the Almond Board of California

How Produced – Following the winter dormant season,earlyspringweathercoaxesthefirstalmondblossomsfromtheirbuds.Becausethetreesarenotself-pollinating,atleasttwovarietiesofalmondtreesareplantedin alternate rows in each orchard. Al-mondsgrowbestwhentheweatherfromFebruary onward is frost-free, has mildtemperatures, andminimal rain so blos-soms can flourish and bees can cross-pollinate the blossoms. After the petalshave dropped and the trees haveleafed out, the first signs of the fuzzygray-green fruit appear. The hulls thatcover the growing almonds continueto harden andmature. In July, the hullsbegintosplitopen.Betweenmid-Augustand late October, the splits widen,exposing the shells, which allow the al-mond kernels to dry. The whole nutseventuallyseparatefromtheirstemsandthehullsopencompletely.

Before harvest, orchard floors are swept and cleared.Me-chanical tree shakers knock the almonds to the ground,wheretheyareallowedtodrybeforetheyaresweptintorowsandpickedupbymachine.Theyaretransportedtocartsandtowedtothehuller,wherethehullisremoved.

The almonds are packaged raw, roasted, or flavored.Some varieties are prepared into various forms includingsliced, diced, slivered, ground (almond flour), blanched, aspastes,andasbutters.

History –Almondsarementioned farback inhistory,evenintheBible.Theywereaprizedingredientinbreadsservedto Egyptian pharaohs. The ancestry of the almond isunknown, but almonds are thought to have originated inthe Mediterranean area of Europe. Explorers ate almondswhile traveling the Silk Road between the Mediterranean,CentralAsia, and EasternAsia. Before long, almond treeswerebeingenjoyedbymanydifferentcultures,fromChinatoIndiaandbeyond.

ThealmondtreewasbroughttoCaliforniafromSpaininthemid-1700sbyFranciscanPadres.However, themoist,coolweather of the coastal missions did not provide optimumgrowing conditions. It was not until the following centurythat trees were successfully planted inland. By the 1870s,research and cross-breeding had developed severalprominentalmondvarieties.Bytheturnofthetwentiethcen-tury,almondswerefirmlyestablishedintheSacramentoandSanJoaquinareasofCalifornia’sCentralValley.

Varieties–Almondgrowershavesoughttoproducedeliciousvarietiesthatwouldbeheartyinthefieldsandworkwellasacookingingredient.Researchinthe1870sresultedinsome

of today’s varieties including Mission,Price,Carmel,andtoday’smostpopular,theNonpareil.Since then,more than40varietieshavebeendevelopedandgrowncommercially.Mostresearchtodayfocus-esondevelopingvarietiesthataremoreresistant to crop damaging insects. Al-mondsarerelatedtothepeachandrosefamilies. In fact, most almond trees aregraftedtopeachrootstock,whichismoreresistanttopests.

Commodity Value – California produc-es the largest supply of almonds in theworld.Withmorethan6,000growersand100 almond processors, California pro-duces approximately 80 percent of the

world’salmondsand100percentoftheUnitedStatescom-mercialsupply.TheUnitedStatesisthelargestconsumerofalmonds.ChinaisthelargestimporterofCaliforniaalmonds,importingmorethan168millionpoundsin2010/2011.Morethan90countriesimportCaliforniaalmonds,includingChina,Germany,India,UnitedArabEmirates,Japan,Canada,Tur-key,theNetherlands,andItaly.

Top Producing Counties – The largest almond-growingregion of the world is California’s Central Valley, an areastretchingnearly500miles. Itshot,drysummersandcool,wetwintersmake it an ideal location for growingalmonds.Top producing counties include Kern, Fresno, Stanislaus,Merced,andMadera.

Nutritional Value–Almondsareanexcellentsourceofvi-taminEandmagnesium.Studieshaveshownthatalmondscanactually lowercholesterol levels.Ahandful(oneounce,about23almonds)hasthesameamountofcalciumasonequartercupofmilkandthesameamountoffiberasanappleororange.Almondsarealsoagoodsourceof proteinandare listed in the “meat, eggs, poultry, fish, dry beans, andnuts”categoryofMyPlatewhichrecommendsthatmostnineto18-year-oldsshouldeatfivetosixounceequivalentsfromthiscategoryeachday.

For additional information:AlmondBoardofCalifornia1150NinthStreet,Suite1500Modesto,CA95354(209)549-8262Fax:(209)549-8267Website:www.almondboard.com

04/13

ThisisoneinaseriesoffactsheetscomposedbytheCaliforniaFoundationforAgricultureintheClassroom(CFAITC).Foradditionaleducationalmaterials:CFAITC,2300RiverPlazaDrive,Sacramento,CA95833-3293(916)561-5625 (800)700-AITC Fax:(916)561-5697Email:info@learnaboutag.org Website:www.LearnAboutAg.org ©2011CaliforniaFoundationforAgricultureintheClassroom.Allrightsreserved.

Almond Activity Sheet

Lesson Ideas • Visityourlocalmarketandseehowmanydifferentalmondproductsyoucanfind.

• Examinethenutritionallabelsforalmondsandmilk.Createagraphcomparingthenutritionalvalueofthetwo.Remembertouseequivalentservingsizes.

• InvestigatewhichcountriesimportCaliforniaalmonds.Identifythelocationsonamapandillustratetheflowofgoods.

• Tastetestavarietyofalmondsincludingraw,roastedunsalted,androastedwithsaltorotherflavors.

• Studytheprocessofcross-pollinationandlearnhowitisusedinthealmondindustry.

• Createamuralorbookaboutthelifecycleofanalmondtree.• Createrecipesusingalmonds.Makeaclass“AlmondCookbook.”

• Studythescientificprocessesinvolvedintheblanching(removingtheskin)ofalmonds.

Fantastic Facts1. Nameoneplantthatisrelatedtothealmond.2. Nameoneuseofthefuzzyalmondfruit.3. Whydidn’talmondtreesbecomeastapletreeatCalifornia

missions?4. Howarealmondsremovedfromtrees?5. Whyareatleasttwovarietiesofalmondtreesplantedin

almondorchards?6. WhatisthemostpopularvarietyofCaliforniaalmond?7. Nameonenutrientalmondshavethatisimportantforstrong

bonesandteeth.8. WhatpercentageofUnitedStatesalmondsdoesCalifornia

produce?

1)Peach,rose2)Dairyfeed3)Thecoastalclimateinwhichmissionswerelocatedwastoomildforoptimumproduction4)Withmechanicalshakers5)Almondsmustcross-pollinate6)Nonpareil7)Calcium8)100percent

Introduction:Almondscontainfiveofthesixclassesofrequirednutrients—carbohydrates,fats,protein,fiber,vitaminsandminer-als.Yourstudentswillexaminethenutritioninformationofwhole-shelledalmondsandlearnaboutthenutrientstheyprovidetothehumanbody.

Materials:Onepoundpackageofwholeuncookedalmondswithnutritionlabel,onealmondinshellforeachstudent,constructionpaper,markers,nutritionreferencebooksorencyclopedias.

Procedure:1. Distributeonealmondwithashellandonealmondwithouta

shelltoeachstudent.Havestudentsmakeobservationsoftheshellanddiscussitsuses.Havestudentscomparetheirtwoalmonds.Aretheythesamevarietiesordotheyappeardifferent?Discussthevarietiesofalmonds,theirusesandthecross-pollinationneededtoproducealmonds.

Lesson Plan: A Look at the Nutrients of an Almond2. Haveeachstudentobservethenutritionlabelforone

servingofalmonds.

3. Assignpairsofstudentsoneofthenutrientscontainedinanalmondandresearchthehumanbody’sneedforthatparticularnutrient.

4. Createaclassbookshowinghowthesenutrientsassistthehumanbodytogrow,repair,furnishenergyandregulatebodyprocesses.Incorporateartistictechniques,wordprocessing,useoftheInternet,libraryresearchandgroupproblemsolving.

Trunk - Almond wood makes ideal firewood.

Hull - The fuzzy hull is used for dairy feed and sometimes as feed for other animals.

Shell - The almond shell is used as bedding in dairies, burned as fuel in co-generation plants, processed into fire logs and is sometimes used as a fiber supplement for animal feed.

Nut - The nut (kernel) is a healthful source of protein, calcium and fiber that can be eaten raw or roasted.

The Many Uses of the Almond Tree