In the 1890s it muscled the Princess Almond out of the hearts and fields of California’s fruit and not growers. Throughout the 1800s the Princess had been the favored almond of European confectioners—the choice for marzipan and macarons. Imported to the United States in the 1840s, it had been planted extensively. As early as 1853 groves of Princess Almond grew in California. But a royal French pedigree was not enough to keep it on the throne. The Princess was usurped by the Nonpareil, an almond variety that remains fixed as a crop almond in California to this very day, contributing 40% of the total annual harvest.
What was the Nonpareil and how did it come to be? It was one of three offspring varieties that A. T. Hatch of Suison, California selected from a multitude of offspring produced in 1878 by the cross of a seedling bitter almond tree with a sweet almond tree (probably a Princess). It had a paper shell, it was sweet, and it bore substantially. (One liability of the Princess Almond was that it was a “shy bearer” in California.)
There are things to consider when judging almond varieties in the field: disease resistance, the number of chill hours required to set the nuts, consistent annual productivity, need for a pollinating variety, and ease of picking and processing. Hard shelled Jordan almonds did not have much of an American following. Soft shelled almonds had more supporters. But the paper shell of the Nonpareil was so easy to breach that shelling the almonds proved no great difficulty. The paper shells however did make the depredations of birds a worry. Growers overcame this problem by planting nuts on such a scale that the bird population of California could not diminish the harvest appreciably. The explosive planting of Nonpareil almonds after 1895 did give rise to another challenge. Almond trees cannot by fertilized by wind pollination. Only insects can pollinate the blossoms. And so a honey bee infrastructure had to be erected to support the groves. Even today flatbeds full of portable bee colonies come to California to insure that a crop of almonds will form.
In the USDA Guide, Almond Varieties in the United States (1925), Milo N. Wood described both the shell and kernel of America’s most important almond:
“Shell: Paper; color variable, light to dark brown; outer shell thin, soft, brittle, crumbly, easily broken and chipped off in hulling and handling; frequently flaky in appearance. . . .
Kernel: Size medium to quite large (average, 1 by 5/8 by 5/16 inches). Rather thin, does no usually quite fill entire shell cavity. Very attractive in appearance. Shape oblong0ovate; both dorsal and ventral edges only slightly curved near middle.” [p 101]
Wood’s summary comments, however, convey the belief’s of the scientific and commercial community about the variety: “Past experience and present indications go to show that the Nonpareil is the best of all varieties for California. As it is popular in the market, there is apparently no danger of overproduction of the variety. The kernel is attractive in appearance, has a smooth pellicle, and a sufficiently good flavor to be desired by the purchaser. Furthermore, the nut has a paper shell, produces a large percentage of kernels, cracks well, and has scarcely an doubles. It brings the highest price on the market of any of the California varieties” [101]. I would like to spend a moment on the phrase “sufficiently good flavor”—Wood here is perhaps acknowledging that the Nonpareil lacks something of the refinement of the Princess Almond, and that flour milled from the Nonpareil did not excite confectioners in the same way that of the old Princess did. When it comes to commodity fruits and nuts, flavor is a contributing, not a decisive factor in deciding what gets planted.
In 2020 the Nonpareil is grafted on nematode-resistant Peach rootstocks and pollinated with the Carmel or Fitz Almond varieties. Usually orchards plant alternating rows of Nonpareil and Carmel, or Fitz. The tree requires 400 chilling hours below 45 degrees Fahrenheit to set fruit. Breeders have attempted to tweak the Nonpareil and make improved versions—The Supareil , the Eddie, the Bennett, and some of the UCD (University of California at Davis) strains are all currently being planted and evaluated. Yet the old boss nut maintains his rule in the fields of California.
Do you want to taste some? But Trader Joe’s California Raw Almonds—they are all supreme grade Nonpareils. Do you want to buy a tree or two? Go to http://www.nonpareilalmonds.com/ the source of my picture of the Nonpareil at the moment of hull split in late August.