Heirloom almonds trending
We recently heard about Shakhurbai heirloom almonds. Grown and harvested in Afghanistan, they’re touted as one of the world’s forgotten superfoods.
As most of us already know, almonds are the good-for-you drupe* that provide antioxidants, folate, calcium, Vitamin E and magnesium. Many articles tout the benefits of almonds balancing blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, and even weight. IMBHO—they should be a self-prescribed daily snack.
*Almonds are not nuts; they are drupes, which are fleshy fruits with thin skin and a central stone containing a seed. We reverse eat almonds… we eat the seed inside the pit instead of the fruit!
About 80% of the world’s almond supply is grown in California. Other top producers include Spain, Iran and Morocco. While we searched several sites to see where almonds are grown, Afghanistan was rarely mentioned. But with the growing popularity of these heirloom almonds, we suspect more attention will be given to Ziba Foods, a company that started working with Afghan farmers in 2015.
We purchased a 5.3 oz bag of Ziba Foods dry roasted and salted heirloom almonds from Amazon for $9.99. Yes, they are a tad higher in price than California almonds, but when we looked into the company’s mission, we decided the higher price was worth it.
The company:
Over 85% of the Ziba Foods workforce is Afghan women. In this part of the world, women are marginalized, so to see a company that gives women year-round employment allowing them to support themselves and their families, we say IMBHO-yes!
Ziba Foods uses a farmer-direct pay system. There are no third party traders involved, so farmers get what they deserve from their crops. Furthermore, this company partnered with the Ethical Food Initiative, a United Nations program that works to connect developing countries with socially- and environmentally-conscious consumers.
And the company continues to grow its traceability program so consumers know exactly where their purchases come from. They are also working toward an organic certification and environmentally-sustainable packaging across all their products by the end of 2022.
With that said, the company put out a video asking for support in September 2021. (See video below.) We couldn’t find any information that spoke to how their crowd sourcing initiative was going, but we hope they are successful in their efforts.
The product:
IMBHO-yes! These almonds have a notable buttery texture to go along with the nutty flavor. It’s clean eating at its finest, with only two ingredients: almonds and salt.
We found a difference between these almonds and California-grown almonds when it came to the skin of the drupe. The outer skin is much thinner and smoother and maybe that’s why these almonds feel more buttery.
While packaging claims indicate these almonds have more protein than California almonds, we couldn’t substantiate it. We also couldn’t substantiate the Omega-3 claim. According to our research, walnuts have the highest amounts of omega, but almonds only have a trace amount of Omega-3 fatty acids—though they are still considered heart healthy.
What we like most about these almonds is they are grown naturally—no hybridization or manipulation to achieve uniformity. The are as nature intended, which is important to a quality product.
Aside from the questionable packaging claims, we still give Shakhurbai almonds an IMBHO-yes. It’s a company with a mission, plus there are several other products we want to try, like tree-dried apricots, Kishmish raisins, and sun-dried figs.
Visit the Ziba Foods website for more information. You can subscribe to a quarterly newsletter and earn 15% off your first order.
