Klein Karoo Going Nuts for Almonds-but the Almonds aren't nuts...

Historically Kruisrivier farms have largely been occupied by tobacco, corn, and cattle farming, but recently a large part has been dedicated to Almond trees. But why now? Who's responsible? And what are Almonds?

What are Almonds?

I know what you're thinking, "Almonds, that's nuts!", but no -they're not. Technically Almonds are classified as "drupes" along with cashews, pistachios, apricots, coconuts, mangos, coffee beans, the list goes on. A drupe? A drupe is a fleshy fruit that surrounds a shell with a seed inside. Regarding the almonds, we're eating the seed. On the tree, when the fruit is still young, it looks a lot like an under ripe peach or prune. The fleshy part dries out and peels back revealing the shell- inside of which sits our almond.

Almonds are estimated to have been harvested since 3000 BC and has been referred in first book of the bible, Genesis, as 'Prized foods given as gifts'.

Why almonds all of a sudden? Well, signs lead to Amandel Afrika

South Africa used to produce a few almonds in the 1980's but abandoned it for more lucrative prospects. Now, with an increasing health conscious population, better prices has sparked new interest. 'The consumption of almonds were at 1.3 million tons in 2018 and since has been projected to increase by 2.8% per year.'- G, Kriel (Farmers Weekly, 2019)

The growth in the almond market also allows farmers to diversify out of grape wine and fruit farming. For farmers around Oudtshoorn, it might be an opportunity to move on from ostrich farming which has never really recovered since the avian flu back in 2011.

Olyfberg, a known olive farm in Robertson, was bought in 2016 by the Van Loveren Group and the late Professor Mohammad Karaan, former Professor in Agricultural economics at Stellenbosch University. In November 2018 they opened an almond processing facility near Robertson in the Breede River Valley. The facility will trade as Amandel Afrika (Almond Africa). The goal is to increase almond production all along the R62 from Robertson to Oudtshoorn and the Olifant River region. Kruisrivier being on that route leads me to believe that Amandel Afrika might be responsible for the recent changes in the area.

South Africa currently imports about 3000 tons of Almonds a year, the largest global supplier being California. Although South Africa cannot compete with the volume produced (South Africa produces only about 300 tons a year) their main focus is on providing higher quality, SA almonds are graded 90-93% while the US is graded at 80-85%. It will be a while before we can measure the impact Amandel Afrika will have on the almond market as Almond trees take about eight years after planting to reach a maturity for commercial production. We might have to wait until 2026/2027.

More about the Almonds

As mentioned before, almonds are classified as drupes. It starts as a flower that takes 7-8 months to fruit before it is harvested, around January/February. Almonds are a rich source of anti-oxidants (we like a good anti-oxidant), vitamins, healthy fats and minerals. The big name anti-oxidant is phytic acid.

Mostly found in the skin, phytic acid can protect against DNA damage, cancer cell growth, lower cholesterol and slow digestion. Almonds are also high in fiber and protein which can help you feel more satiated for longer. The nutrients and anti-oxidants are largely found in the skin. making it important to eat almonds with the skin on- without it you miss out on large parts of the health benefits. Phytic acid also has a slight bad side. It falls under the category of anti-nutrient. Anti-nutrients can inhibit, to an extent, the body from absorbing nutrients. But, in doing so, it can stop the build of calcium crystals which form kidney stones, so its still good! Just be wary of consuming too much of it.

Almonds rely entirely on honey bee's and wild bee's to pollinate the flowers. In the US 70% of the country's commercial honey bee colonies are used to pollinate 80% of the worlds almond supply which comes from California. Crazy, right? While South Africa is the largest producer of macadamia nuts, which is nuts, not drupes.

Almonds can be eaten raw or roasted and can also be further processed to make Almond butter, almond paste (marzipan) and almond milk. Consider this, it takes 74 liters of water to produce a glass of almond milk (Guibourg, C & Briggs H, BBC 2019), which is the highest of the vegan milk options but still substantially less the cow version which requires up to 222 liters to produce a single glass.

So, almonds definitely have a bright future in Kruisrivier. We know now that they are not nuts, but drupes. My favorite drupe? Olives, obviously! Contact us to find out more about Wolfieskop Olive Oil and where you can find our product.

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