We usually eat almonds after they’ve been dried and de-shelled. The tiny green fruits that encase these stones and their inner seeds are actually sometimes available fresh at markets when they’re in season.
You don’t eat the green fruit, though- it’s still the inner seed that you’d be after if you were able to locate fresh almonds. They’re said to be creamier and milkier than the dried variety. According to the Almond Board of California, fresh or “green” almonds are “herbaceous-tasting” and good in salads.
Thought to have originated in China and Central Asia, almonds were brought with traders and explorers along the Silk Road through Asia and the Middle East to the Mediterranean.
After growing happily in Italy and Spain for a while, Franciscan Padres brought almond trees from Spain to California. Since then, almonds have flourished in the Golden State, beginning in missions along the coast, and eventually being planted further inland.