I was suprised to find out that almonds are not supposed to be classified as a nut! Did you know that almonds are actually a friut? Their proper name is called a Drupe.
A Drupe is a fruit that has an outer fleshy part which is the skin or flesh, that surrounds a shell of a hardened endocarp with a seed inside.
Almonds are closely related to the peach family. Other similar fruits like the almonds endocarp would be a cherry or even a plumb.
A beautiful story in Greek mythology says that the almond tree is represented by the beautiful princess Phyllis. She was left at the altar on her wedding day and waited for years before finally perishing of a broken heart.
The gods became sympathetic to Phillis and transformed her into an almond tree, as a symbol of hope. When Phyllis’ fiancee returned to find her as a leafless, flowerless tree, he embraced it and the tree burst into bloom.
Tomorrow will be about the benefits of almonds and the affects drupes have on our body.