Almonds - Marzipan Wonder

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Almonds - a viable plant, can tolerate 25 degrees of frost. A shrub or small tree can reach a height of 10 meters. Almonds live up to 130 years. Almonds grow in Afghanistan, Central Asia, Asia Minor, Iran and South Transcaucasia.

It can bloom and bear fruit in any conditions, if only the sunshine were abundant, therefore almonds can be found both in dry steppes and on rocky slopes. Almonds bloom the very first, signaling the approach of spring. Flowering almonds are an unusually beautiful sight. He all dresses in a beautiful pink and white outfit. Its amazing flowers cover both the trunk and branches. The delicate aroma of almond blossoms resembles that of roses.

Almond fruits ripen in June-July, and sometimes in April. The bones are pubescent with a velvety dry pericarp. Ripening, they break up into two wings, a shell appears from them, like a pearl from the shell wing. And in the shell is an almond nut - an oval white seed in a brown peel.

Sweet almonds, which are rich in fats and proteins, are very widely cultivated. Ancient traces of almond growing date back to 9-6 millennium BC. The homeland of almonds is Iran - ancient Sogdiana, which was located on the territory of present-day Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Almonds are mentioned in Iranian holy books, poets and sages of Iran considered almonds a symbol of “all that you love” - earthly blessings and joys. Almonds were also considered one of the best works of the land of Canaan. In the apocalyptic of the Old Testament, almonds are called a celestial tree with star flowers on the branches. Almonds are also mentioned in scripture.

In everyday life, almonds are used mainly as a sweet or dessert. Confectionery made from marzipan dough (almond) in the Middle Ages was a diet of kings. And nowadays, in the Netherlands and Belgium, on St. Nicholas Day, children are presented with marzipan fruits, and for adults - the initials of their names, cut from almond cookies - “almond letters”. Culinary specialists make fabulous masterpieces from the almond dough: marzipan castles with fabulous characters.

Flowering almonds in some European countries are considered a symbol of a happy marriage. Here is such a wonderful tree - almonds. When the Israelites wandered through the desert, the rod made of almonds blossomed in the most miraculous way, put buds, gave color and brought almonds - as it is written in the "Jewish Antiquities".