In Praise of #4: The Almond

Another short, food-based In Praise of (more movie ones will come later, I promise.) Today, we honour the mighty almond: Prince of all nuts.

An unassuming drupe, it makes up in flavour what it lacks in aesthetic value. [source]

What is most interesting about an almond is that it isn't technically a nut, it's a drupe (although I'm not sure if anything on earth counts as a nut: peanuts, walnuts and hazelnuts are all technically not nuts!) What is best about the almond is that it has the almost unique ability to improve nearly every single dish on earth, be that dish savoury or sweet.

For example, add almonds to a Greek or Turkish Lamb dish, and the dish goes from being pleasant, to being the best thing on earth. Eat them on their own and they have a high nutritional value and deliver protein efficiently [source]. Add almond paste and almonds to a regular croissant (to make, wait for it, almond croissants) and you have both the least healthy potential breakfast dish ever, and the best tasting dish ever. Seriously, almond croissants are worth the inevitable diabetes you will get.

I was going to put up a picture of almond croissants, but that would make me too hungry. Instead, this is the beautiful almond blossom, which is attractive in the present, and suggests healthy almonds for the future. [source]

The only exception for me is Indian curries. Almonds are used as the base for Pasanda caurries, but they  aren't the best, though they are still ok. However, as the surprisingly thorough Wikipedia Page, says, the humble almond has contributed to nearly all of the best cuisines on earth. Anything which is used to make Lamb Tajine, Amaretto (the best of the wussy drinks), and french Macaroon biscuits, deserves nothing but our praise.

 For that, It's the king of all false nuts. Long live this usurper king!