Hi peeps! Thank you for reading my blog.
Today a little more about our life Spain. It's almond time! The trees are laden with almonds. It is the main crop in this area. There are fields and fields full of almond trees.
Apparently they don't need irrigation. As water is precious in this hot and dry climate, a lot of people grow almonds. There are many almond trees near our house.
The almonds flower in late winter (end Feb beginning of March), and then they slowly mature and round about now their skin bursts open (see photo), and they will fall.
I have collected quite a few in this state. The nut needs to dry for a few days and then I crack/bash the nut and I have a raw almond. I love them roasted in the oven and often just eat them as a snack. But I also love baking so I love using them in and on my cakes.
On an industrial level I don't quite know how it works but I do know that the almonds are exported. It's strange that we can't buy almonds locally. If I need almonds outside this season, I buy them in the supermarket like everybody else. What we do buy locally are the shells. We use them as fuel for our stoves in winter.
My husband and I buy a lorry load between 3 families in September. They get delivered in a friend's back yard and we spend a weekend bagging them up. (a standard bag being about 25 kilos).
Here is a photo of our stove. This particular one is a dual burner. One side burns almond shells and the other side is a wood burner.
The wood burner is used most when we need the heating all day in the winter. The almond burner can be lit easily and quickly so is ideal for short periods. But if we have no wood we can burn it all day too. It kicks out a lot of heat, but has to be refilled regularly.
This is my story about almonds. Hope you found it interesting.
Thank you for stopping by, God bless and..... Keep scrapping!
Lisca
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8 comments:
How lovely to have almond trees growing everywhere. We have walnut and hazelnut trees here, but I have never seen almonds. I love the idea of using the shells as fuel, but it must be a lot o work - and fun - getting them all bagged up and ready. Have a great weekend, and thanks for sharing your nutty story, you have me craving burnt almonds now! Hugs, Valerie
I knew almonds didn't need a lot of water, but I had NO idea they were exported and not sold locally. I must be in a similar temperature zone as Valerie, because I have seen walnut trees in the city, but never hazelnut. We get apples, pecans, and peaches, but they mostly grow in the southeast part of the state. We have some nice grape vines near the city, too.
I'm thrilled you have a place where you can actually pick the almonds, because they are very expensive in the US. Far more so than pecans and walnuts.
Looks like hard work to get those shells, but if that's the best way to have them delivered, it is probably a fun weekend, especially if the other families are there at the same time.
Thanks for bringing back this interesting post for your second look on the 2nd. Now I'm off to see your photo hunt photos.
I remember this post! just fascinating how one product can be used in so many ways!!!!
How cool. I think it is great you burn the shells for heat. That is recycling and really a green activity! Plus I love seeing them on the trees. Thanks for sharing this second time since I missed it the first time. Hope its a great weekend. Hugs-Erika
Using the shells is a great thing to do - do they smell good too! What a great idea to share with neighbours! Chrisx
That is so interesting! I've always wondered what almonds looked like on the tree. Very cool. Love that you use the shells as fuel.
Thank you for sharing such an interesting story. I've never heard of an almond stove. Pat :)
Your piece about the almonds is interesting. We are just too low down here for them to grow in profusion though we do have odd trees around us. And surprisingly the nuts are not that ripe yet. We sometimes drive up to Albox area to see the trees in bloom, and I know there is an almond plant open for a couple of months each year in Alfoquia, where you can take your harvest to be shelled. I think your burner is an excellent idea. Kate x
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