Peaches and Almonds?

September 2, 2006 at 8:15 am #5622

Participant

A friend of mine says that there is a tiny almond hiding inside the endocarps of peaches, plums, and cherries. I thought that the almond was a seperate species. Can anyone verify this for me? And if so, are they edible?

Thanks.

September 2, 2006 at 5:33 pm #54231

MrMistery

Participant

we in the business call it a seed

September 6, 2006 at 6:21 pm #54419

SU_reptile

Participant

quote :

a friend of mine says that there is a tiny almond hiding inside the endocarps of peaches, plums, and cherries

quote :

we in the business call it a seed

That’s true. Your friend just must have thought that all seeds of Prunoidae subfamily are called almonds.

quote :

I thought that the almond was a seperate species.[…]And if so, are they edible?

Of course you are right. Almond (Amygdalus communis) is a plant belonging to class Magnoliopsida (in English called dicotyledons), subclass Rosidae, order Rosales, family Rosaceae and subfamily Prunoidae (the same one to which plums, cherries, peaches and apricots belong). It originates in Asia where two of its form are cultivated. The more popular one is a sweet one (Amygdalus communis var. sativa). Their fruit primordia are harvested and eaten whole, including the stone which is not lignified yet. In autumn rape fruits (drupes) are harvested and their seeds are chiped off and being sold on the bazaars or exported. We know them as the almonds. They are used in food and confectionery industry and as a lubricant for machines.
The less popular form is bitter one (Amygdalus communis var. amara). It’s fruits are unedible however used in extraction of almond oil valuable for perfumery, pharmaceutical and food industry.
What is interesting, almond’s seeds are regarded as nuts, because of their flavour and chemical composition (55% lipids, 21 proteins, 16% of carbohydrates and others).
I hope I illuminated the problem a little bit 🙂

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