ALMOND

6th December 2023

Photo Credits: Blossom, Artesia Wells via CANVA; Nuts, Shipee, Getty Images, via CANVA

Would I could meet that rogue Diomed! I would croak like a raven; I would bode, I would bode. Patroclus would give me anything for the intelligence of this whore. The parrot will do more for an almond than he for a commodius drab. Lechery, lechery, still wars and lechery! Nothing else holds fashion. A burning devil take them!

THERSITES: Troilus & Cressida, Act 5, Scene 2

ALMOND (Prunus amygdalus)

Almonds make only 2 appearances in Shakespeare, once in the quotation above and once in the form of marchpane (marzipan) in Romeo and Juliet.

Almonds are trees in the Rose family related to Peachs and Plums. The wild relatives are native to the Transcaucasus Region and have been domesticated in the Mediterranean and surrounding areas for thousands of years. There are two types, bitter and sweet Almond, and bitter Almond contains higher levels of cyanide. As all fans of Agatha Christie know, cyanide has the smell of bitter Almonds, however you would have to consume industrial quantities of sweet Almonds on a daily basis to be in any danger of cyanide poisoning.

Almonds can grow successfully in the milder parts of Britain. John Gerard (1597) tells us that “the natural place of the Almond is in the hot regions, yet we have them in our London gardens and orchards in great plenty.”

Almonds were an important element of cooking in England from at least the Medieval period onwards. There were eaten as nuts, crushed into milks and creams and used for confectionary like marchpane. There is nothing new about Almond milk in Britain.

Almonds require high levels of water and are prone to insect diseases. As with all foods, if you are interested in sustainability and biodiversity check out the source, growing and social conditions of your Almond suppliers.

More Information

Foods of England: Enter ‘Almond’ in the Seach Panel for recipes & sources

Gerard, (1597 first edition), The Herball, or General Historie of Plants (access the 1636 edition via archive.org)

Kew Plants of the World Online: Prunus amygdalus

Royal Horticultural Society: Almond Trees

Soil Association: Growing Almonds & Apricots in the UK