Almonds are a fruit, botanically related to such stone fruits as peaches, plums and cherries. They are thought to have originated in China or on the steppes between the eastern former Soviet Republics and Northwestern Iran, and were a valuable commodity on the ancient Silk Road trading routes throughout Asia and the Middle East. Almonds are mentioned in the Bible and are one of the world's oldest cultivated food sources.
Almonds were brought to the New World from Spain when Franciscan Padres planted almond trees to grace their missions along El Camino Real, the road that stretched from San Diego to Sonoma, California. The hot dry summers and rainy winters of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley provide ideal growing conditions for almonds. Today, California, primarily in the Central Valley, grows 70% of the world's supply of almonds. Almonds constitute California's largest tree crop, with over 530,000 acres and 7,000 growers.