Almond trees
10/01/2014 18:15:33
"The almond tree (ametller) is amongst the most common on Mallorca and one of the island’s primary sources of income; the soil here is particularly appropriate for its cultivation. Where the species grows best is on the plain, and, thanks to very superficial roots, it even grows in places where there is barely a thin layer of earth covering vast layers of limestone rock.
Harvest takes place in July and August and is a true party for all the plain’s inhabitants. Their fruit is thrashed with sticks and quickly gathered off the ground or the fabric previously laid down. They are then taken home in bags which men carry on their backs or on the backs of donkeys. Women and children also take part in these tasks, and it’s calculated that each hectare requires 4 to 6 daily wages work for men, 15-20 for women, 2 - 3 for children and 3 for donkeys. Once the harvest is home, women carefully remove the green skins (clovella verda) which are deposited in different baskets. This work represents 15 - 20 daily wages per hectare.
Almonds which can’t be peeled, either because they’re not ripe or they’re empty, are immediately cracked open to see if they’re still usable. Women are also charged with burning the green skins to obtain ash, labor costs estimated to represent 3 - 5 daily wages per hectare. Finally removed of their green skins, almonds are exposed to the sun to be definitively dried.
Almond trees are appreciated for the great variety of products they offer: the almonds themselves, the ash from the green skin, firewood and leaves used as forage, especially for sheep.
Few of the harvested almonds are destined for direct consumption, at most toasting them (torrades) or used in pastries (torrons). By contrast, a large quantity is used to make almond oil. That said, the majority is exported to different countries, both in the shell or without (almendrón and bessó, respectively)."
Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria. Las Baleares por la palabra y el grabado. Majorca: General Part. Ed. Sa Nostra, Caja de Baleares. Palma de Mallorca. 1982.
