All About Almonds: Origin
Almonds are really 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 were 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
Valleys provide ideal growing conditions for almonds.
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 450,000 acres and 7,000 growers.
