From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
The kernel of the fruit of the almond tree, Prunus amygdalus, a very close relative of the plum and peach. There are two varieties: sweet and bitter almond. Native to western India, the almond was mentioned frequently in the Old Testament. In Numbers 17:8, Aaron's rod, which miraculously bore flowers and fruit, was made of almond wood. Almonds were first cultivated in Europe by the Greeks, who gave us the botanical name amygdala. The Romans considered the almond a Greek nut, calling it nux Graeca. Almonds are available in a number of forms at a typical grocery store: raw (with brown skin), blanched, sliced, slivered, chopped and ground. There is no nutritional difference between blanched and raw almonds, only a textural one.
