Sicilian Almond

The myth tells that one day the Thracian princess Phyllis met the son of Theseus, Acamantus, who had landed in his kingdom during a stop on the long journey that would take him to Troy. The two young people fell in love, but Acamante was forced to leave with the Achaeans to participate in the war that would become famous thanks to the songs of Homer. Phyllis, after having waited for 10 long years for the war to end, not seeing Acamantus return among the victorious survivors and thinking he had been killed, let himself die of despair. The goddess Athena, moved by the sad fate of the girl, transformed her into an almond tree and when Acamant, the next day, returned to Thrace by his beloved, could only embrace the naked trunk. Then the branches of the almond tree, to reciprocate his caresses, were filled with flowers instead of leaves, since then the embrace is repeated every year, in spring, in memory of that unhappy love. The almond tree is a tree that reaches a height between 5 and 8 meters, native to south western Asia. It spread very early in the countries of the Mediterranean for the beauty of its flowers and the goodness of its seed, landed in southern Italy with the Greeks and its culture in Sicily is well attested since the Roman age. As the tree grows well in a warm temperate climate and it easily adapts to calcareous soils, its cultivation in the Sicilian territory spread in a capillary way, to the point of significantly modifying some areas, such as the Valley of Temples in Agrigento and the countryside around Syracuse, Avola and Noto. Its culture has become over the years so important to crown, at the beginning of 1900, the province of Agrigento as the first world producer of almonds, it has been for years the main source of income for almost all its population. Today the productive force of the city has changed and Agrigento does not hold anymore the supremacy of quantity, even though it keeps unchanged the exceptional qualitative parameters which make it unique in the world, almond remains however the base of gastronomic culture, of local economy and its importance is celebrated every year during the festival of almond in bloom in spring. The Valley of Temples in Agrigento is covered with an evocative white and pink mantle as delicate as a bride's veil. The preferred variety in the world does not come from Agrigento but it is always produced in Sicily and it is the fabulous Pizzuta di Avola an elegant almond, flat, with regular contours and an excellent taste, especially sought after for the production of sugared almonds. The consumption of almonds is encouraged by dieticians and nutritionists for the contribution of Omega 3, vitamin E, manganese, potassium, it is for the importance of decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, it is the basis of the Mediterranean diet and the confectionery heritage not only Sicilian, but worldwide. We select the almond only in Sicily in the cultivars thunder and current in different sizes. Are you interested in this product or in fresh sweets produced with Sicilian almonds? Contact us