ALMONDS
California produces 80% of the world's supply of almonds.
Chocolate manufacturers use 40% of the worlds almonds (2008).
California produced 998 million pounds of almonds in 2004. The largest crop on record was in 2002, with 1.084 billion pounds.
It takes more than 1.2 million bee hives to pollinate California's Almond crop (over 550,000 acres).
Chocolate manufacturers currently use 40 percent of the world's almonds and 20 percent of the world's peanuts.
Historians generally agree that almonds and dates, both mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible, were among the earliest cultivated foods.
Almonds are one of only two nuts mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 43:11) the other is the pistachio nut.
Almonds are actually stone fruits related to cherries, plums and peaches.
Japanese teenagers enjoy snacking on a mixture of dried sardines and slivered almonds.
(California Almond Association)
The world's largest almond factory is in Sacramento, California. It processes 2 million pounds of almonds a day.
It takes 1000 pounds of almonds to make 1 pint of almond oil.
The Jordan almond is a large plump variety of almond from Malaga, Spain, considered to be the finest cultivated almond. The are frequently sold with a hard colored sugar coating, or salted.
Almonds are the most nutrient-dense tree nut. One ounce of almonds (20-25 almonds) contains 160 calories and only 1 gram of saturated fat and no cholesterol. Almonds are also an excellent source of vitamin E and magnesium, and a good source of protein and potassium.
The protein in almonds is more like the proteins in human breast milk of all the seeds and nuts, which is why it is the choice of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine as the base for its baby formula.
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