“Before all other flowers, you arrive to reign over them all. And truly, you are a blessed omen, for in your candid beauty appears the first smile of the world and of spring.”
The Arab poet Ebn Teinim thus sang to the almond blossom.
It is one of the first cultivated foods in the world, as well as one of the trees whose flowers bloom earliest. For this reason, the word “almond” in Hebrew literally means “the awakened one”.
Indeed, its early flowering makes it the quintessential herald of spring, which also signifies nature’s annual rebirth.
The almond tree, originally from Central Asia, arrived on the Iberian Peninsula with the Phoenicians and spread with the Romans. As it spread, the beauty of its flower and the extraordinary usefulness of its fruit captivated all civilizations that knew it, inspiring beautiful legends.
In the Maestrat, ideal conditions exist for almond cultivation, so that in February, the once harsh lands and terraces transform into beautiful gardens of delicate white and pink flowers.
And among the infinite existing varieties, one native stands out, the ‘queen’ of our lands and the best almond variety in the world: the Marcona, with unanimous global recognition, known as the “golden nugget”. It has been used in medicine, in cosmetics, its shell as an energy source, and, of course, in our gastronomy.
And it has become the great protagonist of our traditional confectionery: nougats, marzipans, sweets, and cakes have benefited from its flavor and delicacy, to which new recipes and gastronomic applications have been added, such as ice creams, liqueurs, vegetable milk, sauces, etc.
The almond blossom is an extraordinary natural spectacle that deserves to be fully enjoyed.
For this reason, we have organized a genuine experience to discover the best flowering landscapes, the legends linked to it, curiosities, varieties, cultivation by an expert farmer, and of course, we will end the experience in the field by tasting delicious products made with the
“Crown Jewel” of our gastronomy.
