discovering green almonds

i bought these the other day thinking they were fresh almonds but not knowing any more than that. it turns out they are fresh green almonds which are only available for a few weeks each year.

apparently they are eaten raw. and whole. that’s right, give them a wash and then bite in through that soft fuzzy green skin and into the nut. the centre of each, which will form the almond itself, is at this young stage a slightly bitter flavoured gel. the flesh around it reminded me of the unripe (or only just ripe) slightly sour peaches which used to grown in our garden in malawi. interesting to try...

if anyone knows of other ways to eat/use them i'd love to know. and if you're in london and fancy trying them, i bought mine at the wonderful green valley on upper berkeley street, w1h 5qe.