Marcona almonds are native gourmet almonds from Spain, their texture is closer to that of a macadamia nut, and they’re rounder and plumper than the more common California almond you might find at the supermarket.

These sweet almonds can be enjoyed on their own as a gourmet treat or used in any recipe that calls for almonds.

The Marcona almond is sweeter, moister and softer than the other almonds variety with a buttery flavour and texture. With a delicate aroma and taste that is reminiscent of the almond essence used in baked goods.

These nuts turn an ordinary dish into something special. You can enjoy them in cakes and tortes, sautéed in oil and sprinkled over a salad, or served with cheese, chopped and with crepes.

What regenerative practices are associated with our Marcona almonds?

Our almond cultivar is rain-fed and unirrigated which saves c. 13,080 litres of water per kg.¹

These almond trees have adapted to the dry climate and do not need a lot of rain. This enables them to survive even during a drought. They need at least 600mm of rain to be productive.

At Finca Verde we do not buy Marcona trees from a tree nursery, instead, we plant from seed using traditional methods. This means that the almonds we collect today may become your sponsored tree tomorrow with 0 carbon emissions involved.

Their adaptation to a dry climate and needing only to be rain-fed means that they can be used in areas deemed too degraded for other crops. Making regenerative agriculture an essential feature of this cultivation method.

When the almond trees are in bloom they participate in giving the pollinators in the area another source of nutrition.

We have adopted a no till approach to our almond cultivar reducing the carbon emissions from bare soil.

The weeds that grow under the trees are left to build up the organic content in the soil, encourage biodiversity in the soil and help to retain more moisture.

If the weeds get too high they are cut down by hand, which ensures that the soil compaction from previous cultivation methods starts to remedy itself using the natural root growth to flocculate the soil.

At Finca Verde, we harvest the almonds by hand, by not having a tractor we help to reduce soil compaction.

Storage

Store your Marcona Almonds in a sealed container in a cool, dry place and only crack them open when you want to use them.

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Sources:

https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/science-update/worldwide-74-irrigated-nuts-are-produced-under-water-stress