Getting raw almonds in California

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Permalink Reply by Christian Blackburn on April 29, 2008 at 4:13am

Hi Ben,

I buy about 3-5lbs of almonds every week at my farmer's market. I get them for 4 dollars per pound. They don't use pesticides, but do use industrial fertilizers. There's one more loophole though, the food services industry can buy raw almonds, the idea being that they will cook them in their own dishes. I also seriously doubt that buying nuts in shell would be a problem as the shell is in essence a protective anti-bacterial coating (although since when did the department of health employ anything resembling common sense). You might give SunOrganic a call and see if they're selling raw almonds in the shell. It looks like they probably are raw, as in shell is literally the only almond product they're sold out of :).
http://www.sunorganicfarm.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&am...

Why don't you call them and make a pre-order. My friend Richard could send you some raw organic almonds, as he's a raw chef, but I think they cost somewhere in the $7-11/lb range. I'll send you some of the non organic ones or, my preference, you can order from them directly. Please let me know what you decide?

My cheap skate almonds are:
J&J Farm Fresh Produce and Bakery
Whitmore & Geer
Hughson, CA 95326
209-883-4680

Also almonds are one of two nuts (that I've learned of thus far) that are alkalizing, the other being pine nuts. As you already know almonds are also used extensively in raw culinary items milks, cheeses, pates, and deserts.

Cheers,
Christian

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Permalink Reply by BillionsUponUs on May 8, 2008 at 6:08pm

rainbow market in san francisco has organic non-pasturized almonds

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Permalink Reply by Christian Blackburn on May 8, 2008 at 11:44pm

Hi Billions,

That's good to hear, my natural foods grocery store did for a while until they ran out of last year's product. Any idea whether you're working with this year's or last year's crop? Legally they're not supposed to be selling this years in an unpasteurized state (like I give a rip). That being said perhaps Rainbow Market is using a religious exemption, which is in my book the best way to get out of a lot of things, vaccinations for example. I know an 80 year old raw foodist who's an atheist and also an ordained minister of the Essene gospel of peace, simply to utilize his dietary/religious freedoms should that ever be challenged. Personally, I'm not willing to work that hard. If I need the exemption, I'm just going to say my religion is raw foodism and we do such and such :). I will have no trouble documenting my "faith".

Cheers,
Christian Blackburn

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Permalink Reply by Breanna on May 8, 2008 at 8:15pm

I got lucky. My brother's girlfriend's mom's boyfriend (haha) or something of the sort.. is an almond farmer somewhere up north. I've never met them but my bro's gf gets them to send me a few lbs of raw almonds whenever i need it. I want to ask for more information, since I'm probably going to be incorporating more almonds with milk and pates and stuff. Right now I'm eating simply - whole fruits veggies and nuts. I guess when that gets boring or I realize I'm not getting all I need with what I'm eating I'll move to more intricate dishes.

When I get more information on who I get them from I'll post it up.

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Permalink Reply by Christian Blackburn on May 9, 2008 at 3:12am

Hi Pink Lady Apple,

They should be able to last at least 6 months in your fridge. Personally, I don't think they ever taste right again after you've frozen them. That being said, due to the low moisture content of almonds, I suspect the molecular alteration from freezing is minimal.

Cheers,
Christian

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Permalink Reply by Christian Blackburn on May 9, 2008 at 8:18am

Hi RawZi,

I like the way you're thinking. The same is true for dates, they can stand 140 degrees fahrenheit, because they're a natural desert fruit and it occasionally reaches such temperatures in the desert. An apple on the other hand would exhibit considerable molecular alteration at 140 degrees.

Cheers,
Christian

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Permalink Reply by Dawnmarie on May 9, 2008 at 12:24am

Hey Ben,
We get our almonds from Synergy Chef (you can find him under my Friends section). Richard has many other great stuff you can get from him such as boxes of dates and organic coconuts!

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Permalink Reply by Ben Tseitlin on May 9, 2008 at 2:22am

Thanks so much everyone you guys have been a huge help. It's so great to have a community where we can share info like this, I know this would've taken me many visits to local health food stores to find out all this info. It seems like the best bets are rainbow grocery for those of us in the bay area and I'll check out synergy chef and see what he's got. Thanks again everyone!

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Permalink Reply by Cindy aka Vegan Princess on May 9, 2008 at 10:37am

I buy mine at the ferry building farmer's market. Basically most farmers at the farmers markets sell really raw almonds - i'm not sure the ones at rainbow really are raw. I find that the fresh ones from the farmers taste SO much better than what I used to buy at the store anyway so it's worth the trip.

Cindy

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Permalink Reply by Little Miss Sunshine on May 9, 2008 at 2:46am

i have been able to buy almonds that are labeled raw and unpasturized at my local farmer's market in Chico CA (about an hour and a half north of sacramento). they're about $5 a pound.

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Permalink Reply by jason on July 20, 2008 at 10:04am

I live in Florida and either get irradiated crap from California for $15 lb or Raw from Spain for $16 lb. I used to love almond milk.............

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Permalink Reply by Anna on July 20, 2008 at 10:31am

I recently got this from Storm and Jinjee's Daily Raw Inspiriation:

Question of the week: Where do we get our almonds now since the mandatory pasteurization of almonds in California? Answer: Small almond growers are still allowed to sell raw organic almonds at farmers' markets, and we are lucky to have one at the market in Santa Barbara. Otherwise, you can order them online from Living Tree Community Foods at http://www.livingtreecommunity.com/

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