Almonds are a fruit, botanically related to such stone fruits as cherries, peaches and plums. They are thought to have originated in China or on the steppes between the eastern former Soviet Republics and Northwestern Iran. Almonds were a valuable commodity on the ancient Silk Road trading routes throughout Asia and the Middle East. Almonds are one of the world's oldest cultivated food sources.

Almonds were brought to California from Spain when Franciscan Padres planted almond trees to grace their missions along El Camino Real, the road that stretched from Sonoma to San Diego . The hot dry summers and rainy winters of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley provide ideal growing conditions for almonds. Today, California, primarily in the Central Valley, grows 70% of the world's supply of almonds. Almonds constitute California's largest tree crop, with over 535,000 acres and 7,000 growers.