The almond comes from the pit of a stone fruit related to the plum, cherry, peach, apricot, and nectarine. Bitter almonds, and the seeds of the related fruits, contain high levels of the poison cyanide. Normal almonds are safe to eat. To remove the brown peels, blanch the almonds (briefly plunge them into boiling water) and then put them in cold water. The peels will become loose enough to slip off. |Seasonality tables|Autumn|Winter|Spring|Summer|All year|Almonds have their peak in mid-summer and stay in season throughout the fall. However, since almonds (like most nuts and seeds) will easily store for a year, their season is not a great influence on their availability. Roast and packaged almonds will be available regardless of season, and fresh unprocessed almonds may be hard to find, even in season.