What blooms like a peach, looks like a peach, but unlike a peach, is not eaten for its fruit?

The almond, the nut of nuts in terms of world nut trade. Closely related to the peach, the plum and the apricot, the almond is so old botanists believe it is a prehistoric hybrid of unknown origins. Probably from Turkey and environs, the almond has been found in Bronze Age (3100-1100BC) sites in both Cyprus and Greece.

One of the most usual uses of the almond is in marzipan, the sweet paste candy made from ground nuts. This custom originated with the Arabs and was copied by Crusaders returning from the Holy Lands between the 11th and 13th centuries. Marzipan remains popular today-you may have seen tiny pigs, chicks, fruits and vegetables modeled from marzipan.

Almonds from California are the U. S.' seventh largest food export. California supplies more than 70% of all the almonds the world eats, and 100% of U.S. demand. Spain is the second largest world producer.

Twenty percent of the almond is protein, its fats are poly-unsaturated, and it contains high amounts of linoleic acid, an essential oil. Almonds are also high in Vitamin E and calcium. It has been called 'the best, all round nut.'