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In Sardinia, almond trees (Prunus dulcis) have been cultivated since ancient times.
The first crops, encouraged by the Ministry of Agriculture, date back to the early 1900s, especially in the hinterland of Cagliari and in the countryside of Sanluri – a time when almonds were the most popular fruit, with 14.826 acres of dedicated crops and 12.355 acres of mixed cultivations.
The decline of almond trees began in the 1950s, although this Region still holds the third place in almond production, after Sicily and Puglia.

The oldest and most common local varieties are “Arrubi”’, “Cossu”, “Olla”, “Troito”, “Schina”, and “Porcu”. Almonds can be eaten immediately, toasted or raw, but in Sardinia they are mostly used shredded, ground, whole or glazed, especially for making desserts; they’re also the basic of gatò, nougat, confetti, “amaretus”, “candelabra”, “gueffus”, and Ozieri sweets.

Almond oil and essence are also widely used in the modern cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry.

Unfortunately, today there is an increasing tendency to use almonds imported from abroad, since they are cheaper, although of lower quality.

In Sardinia, there are many renowned facilities for the production of almonds. Baressa is one of them, for instance, and it hosts a very nice festival dedicated to almonds in September.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)