Almond
Almonds are one of the most versatile nuts in any home cook’s pantry — equally at home in a morning smoothie or an elegant tart.
In a nutshell
Almonds are the edible seeds of a tree closely related to peaches and cherries, grown primarily in California’s Central Valley. They come in countless forms — whole, sliced, slivered, blanched, ground, and as flour, butter, or milk. Their mild, slightly sweet flavor and satisfying crunch make them one of America’s most beloved nuts.
Nutrition
≈ 78 Calories and 6.7g fat per tablespoon.
Almonds are a genuine nutritional powerhouse. Nearly half their weight is fat, but the overwhelming majority is heart-healthy monounsaturated fat — the same kind found in olive oil — with a meaningful share of polyunsaturated fat as well. Their saturated fat content is relatively low for such a rich food. With roughly 21 grams of protein per 100 grams, almonds are a solid plant-based protein source. Their notable fiber content — about 12.5 grams per 100 grams — supports digestive health and helps moderate blood sugar response. Almonds are also one of the best dietary sources of vitamin E, a fat-soluble antioxidant that protects cells from oxidative stress, as well as magnesium, which plays a role in muscle function and blood pressure regulation. Nutrition per 100 g.
Culinary uses & pairings
In baking and pastry, almonds are indispensable. Almond flour forms the base of French macarons, frangipane tarts, and Italian amaretti cookies, and it’s widely used in gluten-free baking. Whole or sliced almonds top cakes, muffins, and granola, while almond paste and marzipan are classic confectionery building blocks. Ground almonds thicken sauces in Spanish romesco and Indian korma, adding body and a subtle nuttiness without overpowering other flavors.
Beyond baking, almonds shine as a finishing touch and a textural contrast. Toasted slivered almonds scattered over green beans, roasted carrots, or a simple salad instantly elevate the dish. They’re a cornerstone of trail mixes, cheese boards, and tapas spreads. Almond butter works beautifully as a peanut butter swap in sauces, dressings, and smoothies, and almond milk has become a mainstream dairy alternative for everything from lattes to pancake batter.
Pairs well with
Substitutions
Buying & storage
Look for almonds that smell fresh and faintly sweet — any whiff of bitterness, mustiness, or rancidity is a sign the oils have turned and the batch should be skipped. Whole raw almonds offer the most flexibility, since you can toast, slice, or grind them yourself. Sliced and slivered almonds are convenient but go stale faster due to their greater surface area. Buy from a store with good turnover, and check best-by dates when purchasing pre-packaged products. For baking, blanched almonds (with skins removed) produce a lighter-colored, more refined result, while skin-on almonds add a slightly more rustic texture and extra fiber.
Varieties
- Nonpareil: The most widely grown California variety; thin-skinned with a smooth surface, mild flavor, and bright color — the standard for blanching and slicing.
- Carmel: A slightly firmer, more flavorful almond popular for snacking and roasting; its harder shell makes it well suited to mechanical processing.
- Marcona: A Spanish variety that’s rounder, softer, and butterier than California types; typically sold roasted in olive oil and salted — a favorite on charcuterie boards.
- Mission: A harder, darker-skinned almond with a more intense flavor; often used in almond paste, extract production, and flavored nut products.
- Butte: A medium-sized almond with a slightly wrinkled skin and rich flavor; frequently blended with Padre almonds and sold in retail mixes.
Recipes using almond
58 recipes across our recipe sites use almond. A few favorites:
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History & origin
Almonds are among the oldest cultivated foods on earth, with evidence of domestication dating back more than 5,000 years in the Near East and Mediterranean. They appear in the Old Testament and were found in Tutankhamun’s tomb as provisions for the afterlife. Ancient Romans showered newlyweds with almonds as a fertility charm — a tradition echoed in today’s Jordan almonds at weddings. Spanish missionaries brought almond trees to California in the late 18th century, planting them at mission outposts along El Camino Real. By the 20th century, California’s Central Valley had become the dominant global supplier, and today the United States produces roughly 80 percent of the world’s almonds.
How it’s made
Almond trees bloom spectacularly in late winter — they’re among the first trees to flower — and depend heavily on honeybee pollination, making California almond orchards one of the largest users of commercial beekeeping services in the world. The nuts develop through spring and summer inside a leathery hull that splits open as harvest approaches in late July through October. Most orchards are harvested mechanically: a shaker grabs each trunk and vibrates the nuts to the ground, where they dry in windrows for a week or two before a sweeper and harvester collect them. After hulling and shelling, the raw kernels are sorted, graded, and either pasteurized (as required by US regulations for California almonds) and sent to market as raw nuts, or further processed into roasted, blanched, sliced, slivered, ground, or flour forms.
Good to know
- Almonds aren’t true nuts — botanically they’re the seeds of a drupe, making them close relatives of peaches, plums, and cherries.
- California produces about 80 percent of the world’s almond supply, and the crop requires roughly 1.1 million acres of Central Valley farmland.
- The almond industry depends so heavily on pollination that beekeepers truck in approximately 1.8 million honeybee colonies each February — the largest managed pollination event in the world.
- Bitter almonds contain a compound that metabolizes into hydrogen cyanide; they’re prohibited for raw sale in the US, though bitter almond oil produced under strict controls is used as a flavoring, and the flavor profile of amaretto liqueur is typically achieved using apricot kernels or synthetic benzaldehyde rather than bitter almonds.
- Almond trees can live and produce for 25 years or more, and a mature tree yields roughly 50 pounds (23 kg) of nuts per season.
