The almond is used in many recipes, for beauty, oils and milks. Almond branches covered with blossoms are used as signs of peace and welcome.
In Cyrus the almond tree comes to life at the end of January with white clouds of blossoms. As the young fruit forms some people regard them as a delicacy and eat them whole including the green mantle. At that time the nut core is still very soft.
As the nut develops the core gets firm and a skin builds up. Peeled young almonds on ice are a delicacy in every good Cypriot restaurant.
Almonds are ready for harvesting when the green shells of the almonds have just popped open and before they fall down from the tree.
When the nuts fall, they are can be eaten by ants and worms. Nothing can stop the ants from climbing the trees and feeding on them while the almonds are still fresh, so the time to harvest the nuts is critical.
When harvesting almonds the tradition is to use a long pole to tap the tree sharply to dislodge the nuts. The nuts then fall onto a sheet spread out on the ground from where they’re gathered up and the harvest is complete.
There’s a small almond grove next to our villa. I knew the harvest had started when early one morning two old ladies in traditional clothes were tapping the trees and gathering the nuts. It was a hot day, but they toiled relentlessly until their work was done.
Of course we had to go and see, and despite a formidable language barrier came away friends with a bucket full of almonds. Living in Cyprus is a delight.
To see more pictures of the almond nut harvest, see my album of Polemi pictures.
