Rabbi Rebecca Joseph is a conservative rabbi, a cultural anthropologist, and a Tuv Ha’Aretz member! Her blog, The Parve Baker is filled with delicious recipes and (equally delicious) words of Torah. This is her third installment of “Unboxed” – posts that demystify seasonal produce. See her first post on rhubarb and her second post on leeks.

The economy is surely suffering, but this season’s nuts are in at my local farmers’ market and I couldn’t be happier. Did I really spend twenty minutes poring over just one grower’s almonds today? Absolutely, but we were mostly talking. About almonds, of course.

Along with some of my other favorite culinary nuts like macadamias and cashews, almonds are not true nuts at all, but the edible seeds of stone fruits. They have more in common with apricots and peaches than hazelnuts, walnuts or pecans. Peanuts are total impostors. They’re actually legumes which is why Jews who avoid kitniyot during Passover don’t smear peanut butter on matzah. Other nuts are, botanically speaking, seeds. Brazil nuts, their impressive size notwithstanding, are in this faux-nut group.

As a baker, I use a lot of nuts. Sweet almonds, the kind marketed for cooking and noshing, are especially versatile. They’re also good for you. Almonds are up there with blueberries, broccoli, and spinach when it comes to super-healthy foods. They contain more calcium than any other nut and are one of the best plant sources of protein. Add to that fiber, folic acid, magnesium, riboflavin, vitamin E and cholesterol-lowering monounsaturated fat. A small handful goes a long way!

Whole, chopped, slivered or sliced, almonds add flavor and crunch to tortes, quick breads, pastries, and cookies. Whole or blanched almonds are finely ground to make flour (meal) that combines well with other flours and can substitute for up to half of the all-purpose flour in many recipes. Almond paste is a thick mixture of ground blanched almonds, sugar, and glycerin (note: the fats or oils in this common confectionary ingredient can come from vegetable, animal, or petrochemical sources). Marzipan, which is colored, shaped, or frequently rolled thin to cover wedding and other fancy cakes, is almond paste with additional sugar added. Sometimes it contains egg whites, as well.

I prefer almond to soy milk in most cases for parve baking. It’s becoming more widely available in stores, but it’s also easy to create at home. Making your own has two big advantages. You get a fresh product and control how sweet, salty (or not) you want it to be.

Almond Milk

Using a ratio of one cup of almonds to three cups of water, try one of these methods. Pour boiling water over almond meal, stir, and let stand for 1½-2 hours. Alternately, soak whole almonds in water overnight, rinse, then combine the soaked almonds with water for the almond milk in a blender and puree. Either way, strain the liquid through a fine sieve or several layers of cheesecloth. Sweeten or add a small bit of salt to the almond milk, if you like. Vanilla seeds or extract can be added, as well. Fresh almond milk keeps covered in the refrigerator for a couple days. If it’s been standing, give it a good shake or stir before using.

Almond extract, made from the oil of bitter almonds and ethyl alcohol, is the secret ingredient in the unbelievably indulgent Double Chocolate Cherry Brownies. It’s also what gives soaps and lotions their lovely almond smells. A potent flavoring, use it conservatively in baking for the best results.

If I haven’t convinced you yet that almonds are worth going nuts over, consider this. Archeologists discovered wild almond fruits in King Tut’s tomb, c. 1325 BCE. A biblical symbol of Aaron’s priesthood (Num. 17:21-26) and Jeremiah’s call to prophecy (Jer. 1:11), our ancestors were cultivating them by the third century BCE along with grape vines, olive and date palm trees. That’s one powerful heritage for a culinary nut.