Green Almonds

Every Spring you see these mounds of green fuzzy things all over the place.  Every little produce market has them sitting out by the scales so you will take one to snack on or pick up a kilo or two for purchase.  I took this photo of a massive pile of them just outside Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem today (the day before Easter).  So… what are they?!  Almonds.  Green almonds to be exact.  They are immature green almonds.  Left to their own devices on the tree, they will ripen, the green fuzzy shell will harden and crack open revealing the hard almond shell with the almond safely inside.  But now, that little almond is soft and completely edible… albeit a bit sour and not really my cup of tea, but interesting nonetheless.