[Sca-cooks] green almonds

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Saturday, July 5, 2003, at 04:16  AM, Mark S. Harris wrote:

> Olwen gave a recipe from a website (maybe of questionable 
> authenticity) for
>> Lamb with broad beans (fava beans) and artichokes
> Which contained:
>> 10 green almonds, fresh or pickled
> I assume these are less than fully ripe almonds. Where would you get 
> these today? Has anyone seen these in Middle Eastern markets?
> Stefan

Yup. They're the almond equivalent of the jelly coconut. The immature 
shell is a little like the shell of a baby fava bean or those green 
Japanese soybeans, and the future nut kernel is translucent, succulent, 
and a curious mix of the crisp and the gelatinous. Well, kinda like a 
jelly coconut. You eat the whole thing.

They sometimes show up in the more serious ME markets (as in, those 
that cater to Middle Eastern communities, rather than your local place 
you go to buy pitas and hummus) in the springtime. They may also show 
up in expensive gourmet food shops, but I haven't seen them in any of 
ours.

If you can find them (I noticed them this year but didn't buy any), 
they're good in compost. I've done a quick/cooked version of the 
pickle, essentially a synthesis of the Forme of Cury and the Le 
Menagier recipes.

Adamantius