For a long time, peanuts reigned supreme as the snack nut of choice in the United States. In recent years, however, the numbers show that there’s a new nut king: almonds.
These same numbers show that Americans have been purchasing over 200% more almonds since 2005. Almonds are everywhere in all meals of the day – breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Despite their explosive increase in popularity, however, there are plenty of people who don’t know where almonds come from. We’ve written this post to tell you where almonds are grown.
Where are Almonds Grown?
Almonds are such a decadent nut that you might assume they have to come from some exotic location. This isn’t necessarily true, though, as almonds are grown in a variety of locales.
You can find commercially grown almonds in the United States, Australia, Iran, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and Morocco.
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Who is the Largest Producer of Almonds?
Now that you know where almonds are grown, you may think that they must mostly be grown in another country. After all, it’s pretty common for the United States to start growing a crop only after it becomes popular elsewhere.
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You might be surprised, then, to learn that over half of the almonds in the world are grown in the United States. The majority of this massive almond production comes from California, where a million acres of almonds are grown yearly.
The second largest producer of almonds is Spain. However, Spain produces roughly one sixth the amount of almonds coming from the United States.
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Where are Almonds Native to?
They may be grown all over the world now, but almonds had to start somewhere, right? Yes, almonds have a country of origin, and it’s not the United States.
Almonds are originally from the Middle East. Specifically, you could find them in Iran and immediately surrounding areas.
They have an extremely rich history. It is said that almonds have been grown by people as early as 3000 BC simply because it was easy for farmers to grow good-looking almond plants.
Wrap Up
The next time you toss a handful of almonds in your mouth or sip on some smooth almond milk, remember that you’re consuming a very historical plant. These nuts have been cultivated by people for millennia, and if that isn’t amazing, we don’t know what is.
If you’d like to learn more about almonds, you can read about their cost in comparison to cashews here.
Hey, I’m Joey. I’ve been cooking since I was a little kid and love everything about it. You can find my writing about food, kitchen appliances (such as blenders) and much more. Thanks for stopping by!
