For a while now, I've suspected a trend when friends of a certain age pulled bags of almonds from their purses to eat for lunch or snacks. But I really knew something was up with the nut when, this past summer, I saw teenagers munching almonds before competing in swim meets.
My daughter informed me word had spread on the team that almonds are a far better source of energy for athletes than salt- or sugar-loaded snacks, including those billed as "energy bars."
You know something's hot when a teenager eats it instead of potato chips or chocolate.
The current allure of almonds - in 2008 they hopped over peanuts to steal the number-one spot as an ingredient for new-product launches - has much to do with publicized research about their health benefits, including studies showing that they can be a natural way to reduce blood-cholesterol levels and body weight. They're a good source of protein, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin E, calcium, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus. Ninety percent of their fat content is unsaturated.
I've long thought of almonds as magic, but not for those reasons.
To me, they are similar to a certain scarf I own that has enough gold thread shot through it to transform humdrum clothing into party wear. Almonds give a cook the same sort of sleight of hand, elevating, say, a bowl of salad greens to company fare.
This is not to say that almonds have been ignored until lately.
They are among the earliest cultivated foods, thought to have their origins in the Middle East. They appear in the Bible. The roots of the tradition of giving candy-coated Jordan almonds as favors at weddings rises from the ancient Roman practice of showering them on newlyweds as a fertility blessing. Merchants traveling the ancient Silk Road between the Mediterranean and China snacked on almonds, thus beginning their spread throughout the world.
Although Franciscan priests brought Prunus dulcis, the almond tree, to California in the 1700s, it took another century for successful orchards to develop.
Even then they weren't plentiful. In 1789, Thomas Jefferson included almonds on a list of foods that he had sent to him from Paris.
Now, California's Central Valley, which includes Sacramento and San Joaquin, produces 100 percent of the U.S. demand and 80 percent of the world's, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
