La almond is the fruit of the almond tree (Amygdalus communis L. or Prunus amygdalus o Prunus dulcis), more precisely it represents its edible seed. The almond tree is a plant belonging to the large family of the Rosaceae, the same to which very common fruit plants such as the apricot, raspberry, apple, loquat, pear, peach and plum belong. It is native to the Asian continent and is now widespread throughout the Mediterranean basin. It was the Phoenicians who introduced the almond tree to our country, in Sicily to be precise. The almond tree is a long-lived plant that can reach up to 10 metres in height. It has brown or greyish-brown branches, serrated leaves and white or slightly pinkish flowers.
The almond is an ovoid drupe that in some ways resembles the walnut (the Romans called the almond, the Greek walnut) with a green surface, sometimes covered with down; the shell, woody and porous, contains inside one or two seeds covered with a thin, sometimes smooth, sometimes wrinkled film. Almonds can be harvested fresh in April and May before the shell is lignified or, semi-fresh, in July and August. Fresh almonds are available throughout the year.
After the almonds have been harvested, they are subjected to several processes before they can be marketed: smalling, drying, shelling, peeling, sorting and sizing. In the past, many of these operations were carried out manually, but today there are special machines that allow much faster and more accurate processing.