Frequently Asked Questions

 

1. How many almonds do you produce every year?

Every year, we yield about 2,000,000 pounds of almonds.

 

2. What types of almonds do you grow?

All California almonds should have a hearty, crunchy texture and subtle, buttery flavor. The goal is a balanced, sweet/dry flavor profile, with a minimal bitter or sour flavor notes. We focus on five varieties, each with slightly different characteristics:

 

  • Nonpareil: Literally “unequaled,” nonpareils are the premium variety of almond, and the predominate variety we grow. They have an attractive appearance, with a medium size, flat shape, light color and smooth surface. These are the nuts featured in our Whole Natural Almonds packages.
  • Fritz: This mission-type almond has a rich flavor and smaller, wider shape than nonpareils.
  • Wood Colony: Wood Colony almonds are medium-sized with a longer shape; ideal for blanching and baking.
  • Carmel: Excellent for roasting, Carmel almonds are medium-sized and narrow-shaped almond.
  • Monterey: This variety has a rich meaty taste and is fantastic for snacking, baking, and roasting. They have a slightly darker, more wrinkled skin than the lighter smooth Nonpareil variety.

 

3. What else do you grow besides almond trees?

About 90% of our orchard is dedicated to almonds, with the remaining 10% devoted to walnuts. And of course, there’s the honey and beeswax from the bees. Annually, we produce about 400,000 pounds of walnuts, 400,000 pounds of honey, and 15,000 pounds of beeswax. 

  

4. What kind of honey do your bees produce?

It’s North Dakota clover honey, and it’s fantastic: with a dark color, rich body, and full-flavored taste.

  

5. What other types of sustainability practices do you employ?

Water is becoming an increasingly precious resource. We minimize our usage with micro-irrigation. We’re also working towards being a zero waste operation, while our overall industry works towards carbon neutrality. We’ve installed solar panels on our property, and the majority of the energy we use at A & Bee Provisions is generated from them.

  

6. Are your almonds pasteurized?

Our almonds are steam pasteurized. In fact, nearly every almond eaten in the United States has been pasteurized since the USDA passed a law in 2007 requiring all almonds sold in commercial quantities to undergo pasteurization to prevent salmonella contamination. Extensive testing has confirmed that steam pasteurization doesn't change almond nutrition. Our goal is to ensure product safety while offering the best nutrition possible. We NEVER use PPO (propylene oxide).

  

7. Why do I sometimes see "Raw Almonds" sold commercially?

There is no legal definition or federal definition of the word "raw," and the nut industry views pasteurized nuts that have not undergone additional processing to be raw.