Or could it be both? It turns out that nuts are seeds but not all seeds are nuts. And then there are foods we popularly call nuts that might technically be considered fruit! AND there are nut-like seeds found inside some fruits that are botanically called something else altogether: drupes! It’s all so confusing. I […]
The squirrels in my backyard are gathering nuts like crazy. And that’s VERY fun to watch because our local squirrels are very smart and cunning! You see, the squirrels in my neighborhood like to go from yard to yard by traveling on the rail just below the top of the fence line where they can’t […]
The first time I saw a cashew growing in a garden beside the side of a road in Hawaii, I stopped dead in my tracks. “What on Earth is that crazy looking thing?!!!” There on a very handsome looking tree were bright red and yellow bell-shaped fruits with a bulging curved “bell clapper” like […]
Did you know that 70% of the almonds grown in California are exported all over the world? Not only that, California almonds represent 80% of the almonds eaten in the world as a whole! Germany is the biggest importer of almonds followed by Japan and the Netherlands. Here is just a short list of how almonds fit into the […]
Well, the first thing I can’t seem to help myself from saying is that it is far better to dry roast nuts than human beings! I’m roasting in my house as I’m writing this blog post tonight! It’s 8:30 pm and still 96ºF! Of course, that’s an improvement over the 106º we hit earlier in […]
What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? I have too many favorites to really choose just one but pistachio is always close to the top of my list! When I was young pistachios were considered a special treat. Because it takes several years for a pistachio tree to bear fruit, they produce well only every other […]
It being June, the month of weddings, I thought I’d share a love story—one involving almond trees, of course! This tale comes from Algarve, Portugal, a gorgeously scenic place on the Mediterranean. It’s a popular tourist destination but is also important agriculturally in the region. Almonds are one of the largest crops—the stuff of legends, no […]
For me, the smell of almond paste either in a freshly made croissant or some other wonderful almond dessert is such a heady experience I want to wear it like a perfume! I just love it, so one day I decided to look into the use of almond oil in perfumery. What I discovered was […]
It’s June, the biggest month for weddings. Have you ever wondered why? Well, the tradition dates back to ancient Rome when they celebrated the festival of the Roman God Jupiter and his wife Juno on the first day of June. The month of June is actually named after Juno. She was the goddess of marriage […]
Here we go gathering nuts in May, Nuts in May, nuts in May, Here we go gathering nuts in May, On a cold and frosty morning. Who will you have for nuts in May, Nuts in May, nuts in May, Who will you have for nuts in May, On a cold and frosty morning. We’ll […]