Cracking the Shell: 11 Surprising and Delightful Fun Facts About Almonds You Need to Know

1. Almonds: Undercover Fruits

In a plot twist as shocking as finding out your favorite breakfast cereal is actually a character from a Shakespeare play, behold the truth: almonds are, in reality, undercover fruits! Ditching their nutty facade, they embrace their true identities as drupes: you know, the ones that rock a hard shell around a solo seed, like their peaches and mangoes cousins. Fear not, dear snackers, for almonds still deliver the goods with healthy fats, protein, and fiber, making them a delicious plot twist in your culinary adventures.
Source => mcgill.ca

2. Beauty Guru of Tree Nuts

Feeling a little nuts while trying to maintain a radiant complexion? Almonds have got you covered like an all-natural beauty guru: Just one ounce of these crunchy delights provides 50% of your daily vitamin E needs, making them the tree nut king of skin defense against pollutants, UV rays, and other unwelcome environmental guests.
Source => almonds.com

Discover the mysterious side of cashews as we reveal their hidden "Edward Scissorhands" connection and how they're expertly treated to ensure safe, savory snacking for everyone! 🌰🔥

=> Fun Facts about Nuts

3. California's Nutty Surplus

As almond farmers holler "nuts to you!", Californian shipping containers apparently yell back "nuts to us, too!": Due to shipping container issues, California is grappling with a surplus of up to a billion pounds of almonds, causing concerns for delayed payments and hindered production for this year's nutty crop.
Source => capradio.org

4. Almond Pollen: Bee Vitamin

Who needs vitamin supplements when you can go buzzing for almonds? The bees certainly think so: Almond pollen provides honey bees with all ten essential amino acids in their diet and the amygdalin in almond blossom nectar helps reduce bee viruses and gut parasites, enabling beekeepers to expand their apiaries.
Source => almonds.com

5. Almond Milk: Undercover Cow

Almond milk walks into a bar, bartender says, "Hey, aren't you that famous under-cover cow who's really a nut?": That's right, almond milk, the dairy-free superstar, is made from almonds soaked, ground, and filtered with water, containing around 2-3% almonds in commercially produced versions, and up to 25% in homemade recipes for extra creaminess.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

6. Cookie Monster of Nuts

If almonds lived on Sesame Street, they'd have been known as the "cookie monsters" of the nut world: Enter Dr. George Goshgarian, Sr., who received the Almond Achievement Award in 2021 for transforming these misunderstood morsels from unhealthy nibbles to nutritious powerhouses, serving as an ABC board member and Nutritional Research Committee chair for a combined 22 years.
Source => almonds.com

7. Thirsty Nut Connoisseurs

If you thought you were a thirsty nut connoisseur, almonds have you beat: These surprisingly parched little seeds guzzle up a whopping 5 liters of water just to produce a single one. Now before you go nutty about the anticipated price tag, plenty other factors like supply and demand, processing expenses, and transportation costs come into play to determine their ultimate market value. Cheers to these deceptively hydrated nuts!
Source => greenecofriend.co.uk

8. Almond-Co-Lab: Sustainable Stars

Who needs almonds when you can have an entire almond-co-lab? Behold, nature's OG multitasker: The California almond industry not only offers delicious kernels for our munching pleasure but also uses the hulls as livestock feed, shells for bedding, and even turns old almond trees into biomass for soil health and alternative energy sources. In short, almonds are truly more than just a nutty snack - they're leading the charge in sustainable practices!
Source => almonds.com

9. Stone Fruit Soirée

Move over family reunions, almonds are hosting a stone fruit soirée with a rosy twist: These versatile nuts are actually part of the Rosaceae family, sharing genetic history with peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, and nectarines, dating back six million years, and scientists use genome sequencing of almond and peach trees to unravel their unique fruity traits.
Source => wtffunfact.com

10. Mighty Magnesium Miners

Who knew that almonds secretly moonlight as mighty magnesium miners, wielding wee winy pickaxes to maintain your body's precious balance? Well, it's true: these unbashful but humble nuts happen to be a potent source of magnesium, responsible for blood sugar management, blood pressure regulation, and assisting over a hundred bodily processes – talk about a multitasking munchie!
Source => healthline.com

11. Jerry Springer of Nuts

Almonds, the Jerry Springer of nuts: they’re actually the cool cousins of cherry and other stone fruit pits, which, when denatured through culinary witchcraft like cooking and processing, say "ta-da!" and unveil their magical almond flavor. Case in point, mahlab and noyeaux - the beautiful Frankensteins of breads, sweets, and liquors. But beware! Face nature's wrath if you dare to eat these kernels raw, as cyanide poisoning may be your just reward.
Source => foragerchef.com