The almond tree (Prunus dulcis Bach) its a tree that belongs to the Rosaceae family, so easy to grow in Mediterranean dry areas. Having 2 or 3 trees of this type on our garden can give us a big harvest every year, and also we could enjoy their smell and flowers during the bloom.
It's a very sylvan tree that survives very well even dry events or hot summers. It's best it's Mediterranean climate beacuse it tolerate, but not to well, the frosts.
The best way to plant it it's by grafting.
Talking about plagues, personally we have observed just the attack of a little beetle that creates galleries under the cortex, making the trees bleed. Also some aphids, the frist symptom its the curving of leaves. For the second ones we recomend potasic soap when you see those first symptoms.
For the curious ones, I'd like to talk about it's wild parent: the bitter almond (Prunus amara). It's bitter taste it's due to benzaldehyde, that comes out from the decomposition of amygdaline.
Functionality of amygdaline it's to prevent the almonds from being eaten by predators and in consecuence to preserve the species.
When you eat a bitter almond amygdaline metabolizes with some enzymes decomposing in glucose, benzaldehyde and hydrocyanic, that's why a big amount of this almonds could be toxic.
After all taht, I'm gonna leave you a recipe to do with you almonds, almond milk. It's healthier, cheaper and it contains way more almond than the supermaket ones.
We need:
- 200 gr of almonds.
- 1 liter of water.
- Vanille or cinnamon (optional).
How to:
- Peel off the almonds.
- Leave them with water (so they hydrate) for at least 2 hours.
- Take off the water and put the almonds with new water in the blender.
- Blend them.
- Strain them so there are no pieces of almond floating.
- Add vanille or cinnamon.
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