Most people look at a flowering almond tree this time of year and see a masterpiece of nature.

I see a year’s supply of almonds.

My almond consumption habits have slowed down a bit in recent years. There was a time that I’d buy almonds by the 25-pound box to the tune of three boxes a year. And I ate almost all myself, save for perhaps two small Ziplock baggies I gave away.

Now, due mostly to the pain of breaking down boxes of almonds and repackaging them along with the pandemic skewing my usual way of purchasing almonds in bulk, I buy most of my almonds at Costco. They come in three pound bags. I consume 18 bags a year or 54 pounds simply by eating them one at a time.

Almond growers can expect a typical tree to yield between 50 and 85 pounds of nuts a year. That means somewhere out there in the Central Valley — the earth’s most productive almond growing region — bees are now busy pollinating a tree to produce nuts that I could end up eating all by myself.

I actually eat more than 54 pounds a year. From time to time, I will hit area of produce stands and grab a small bag. The reason is simple. There are 30 different varieties of almonds grown in California. And we’re not talking honey roasted, smoked, spicy dill pickle and such – creations of Blue Diamond et al to hawk more almonds. I’m talking raw almonds.

You can definitely tell the difference in taste between the various varieties just like ambrosia apples taste different than gala apples.

Granted, if you don’t eat a lot of processed food your taste buds tend to pick up more subtle differences.

Do not misunderstand. I’ve got nothing against flavored almonds, although I’d argue blueberry may be getting a tad carried away, along with chili-n-lime. Flavored almonds are what got me hooked on almonds. As a kid, my mom would buy the can of Planters mixed nuts.

I would, if allowed to, clean out all the cashews and then peanuts. If I was “desperate” I might pick at the walnuts. But the almonds and Brazilian nuts were definitely a no go.

The secret to Planters’ success was heavy use of salt.

By the time I was in my 20s, I admit Blue Diamond reeled me in with smokehouse and honey roasted almonds, with the latter being my favorite.

It was not until I significantly altered my eating and exercise habits — the two go hand-in-hand — when I was 30 that I started consuming vegetables, fruits, and nuts as much as possible sans flavoring whether it was from salt, seasonings, or butter.

If you are honest with yourself, it’s the taste of the “seasoning” you’ve conditioned yourself to like and not the natural flavors.

The point was driven home one of the two years I worked as part of a Rotary shift preparing deep fried asparagus at the Stockton Asparagus Festival.  

We were instructed to take a perfectly good and fresh asparagus stalk, dip it in thick batter, and then plunge it into sizzling oil that I assure you wasn’t heart healthy in a deep fryer.

Everyone who picked up a plate wanted it piping hot.

The second year when I got a chance to work the counter, I asked people what they liked the most about the deep fried asparagus. They overwhelmingly zeroed in on the deep fried batter that was more than a little salty.

The taste of the asparagus, even altered by cooking, was not the main event. It was the batter.

To each their own, but from where my taste buds are at, natural almonds are at least 10 times more tasteful than any flavored version Blue Diamond’s marketing department can dream up.

There are people out there who work diligently to dis almonds. The reason? It takes — surprise, surprise, surprise — water to grow them.

Advocates who want more water to go to fish than farms for decades have painted a zero on the backs of almond growers to try to manipulate public opinion. All farming requires water. And there are plenty of studies that indicate in terms of food value, protein and such compared across the spectrum of what we eat from meat to veggies and fruit, the amount of water to grow an almond is not excessive.

Their goal is to convince Californians that farming is, for all practical purposes, a waste of water because it takes the largest cut of water.

There’s only one problem with that.  People need to eat food to survive. And the food California farmers grow is being eaten.

So why make almonds — of which 90 percent are grown on family farms — the big, bad wolf in the ongoing water wars?

The reason is simple. They are a big target. A big, big, big target.

There are more than 1.5 million acres of almonds in California. Given you can plant between 120 to 160 trees per acre, that is a minimum of 180 million almond trees.

But guess what? Farmers in California have, for the most part, been reducing the amount of water they need while at the same time increasing yields.

And if you think your water bill is high, water costs for growers are in the stratosphere in comparison whether they buy surface water or are at the mercy of PG&E to power water well pumps.

Farmers follow the science and financial constraints. Too much water isn’t necessarily good for trees and it’s costly. Too little water and you run the risk of not adequately draining naturally occurring salt that can render soil sterile and unable to grow food.

The reduction of almond water use has been epic.

The amount needed dropped 33 percent from the 1990s to 2010s thanks to technology and changing farming practices.

Since 2018, usage has fallen another 15 percent with the goal to reach a 20 percent reduction by the end of this year.

But wise use of water may not be the real “green” story involving almonds.

Those 180 million trees store 30 million metric tons of carbon a year in the Golden State that some would prefer be known as the Green State. That is the equivalent to the annual emissions of 24.5 million gas powered vehicles.

Given almond orchards have 25-year lifespans, the environmental impact on dust concerns and such is low.

And if you’re prone to squawk about the rising price of protein via eggs these days, may I offer some food for thought? Based on Costco pricing, a three-pound bag of almonds has dropped from almost $16 or just under $13 in recent years.

—  This column is the opinion of Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Courier or 209 Multimedia. He may be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com