In the Book of Genesis, Jacob counsels his sons as they set out on a journey, telling them that they should prepare a present composed of “a little balm, a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds.”

That sounds like a nice hostess gift, but why did Jacob speak of nuts and almonds separately?

As it turns out, almonds are not nuts at all, though they are a popular component of mixed-nut collections the world over.

And here in the Bay Area, almonds loom large, as California exports comprise 80% of the world market. Local chefs, loving to cook with local ingredients, have been liberal in their application of the almond and local growers have long experimented with different flavorings. These days, spicy almonds and the Mission variety are all the rage.

Technically, almonds are drupes, a category of fruit whose flesh surrounds a hard hull with a seed inside, which means almonds have more in common with plums and cherries than chestnuts and hazelnuts. (For what it’s worth, most of the foods we think of as nuts are actually seeds, and somewhat shockingly, the peanut is really a legume.)

Almond trees were first cultivated in the early Bronze Age, making almonds one of the first domesticated crops in human history. They were first grown in the Mediterranean around 3000-2000 B.C., and we know that they had traveled to Egypt by the time the Pharoah Tutankhamun died in 1323 B.C., because desiccated almonds were found in his tomb. They continued to spread across the world, and Spanish missionaries brought them to California in 1700.

At first, humidity in Coastal California made it hard to cultivate almonds, but in the 1870s, new cross-breeds were successfully planted inland, particularly near Sacramento and San Joaquin. These days, California produces most of the almonds in the world, and has a virtual monopoly on almonds in this country.

While the vast majority of almonds grown in California are exported internationally, they’re also a local favorite, particularly around the holidays, when roasted flavors come into season. Philip Carter, owner of Winters Fruit Tree, sells his almonds locally, focusing on Farmers’ Markets around the Bay Area where office workers may be looking for a healthy snack.

Carter has been selling flavored nuts for the past 40 years, and he has seen trends come and go. Twenty years ago, Carter said, spicy flavors were less popular than sweet flavors, but now hot flavors are really, well, hot. The chili-lemon flavor is a bestseller, but the applewood-smoked flavor sells very well, too, since it tastes a bit like bacon. On a recent Thursday at the Mission Community Market in San Francisco, there were 19 flavors of almond, ranging from classics like honey-roasted to what Carter calls “oddball” flavors, like wasabi or cheddar-jalapeno.

There are now more than 100 varieties of almonds grown in California, including the Mission, the Carmel, the Butte, and the Ne Plus, but Carter's favorite is the Mission.

“They’re less expensive and they taste better,” he said, explaining that Mission almonds are smaller and darker, and they chip easily. “The average person will choose the Nonpareil, but after I give them a taste of the Mission, they agree with me.”

Almonds are sprinkled throughout Bay Area menus —think of almond croissants at Tartine and La Boulange, Bay Bread —but lately one of the most prominent almond-loving chefs is Chef Mourad Lahlou, author of the recently-published “Mourad: New Moroccan” (Artisan). He also favors the Mission variety, which is the only kind of almond he serves at Aziza, his Michelin-starred restaurant in San Francisco.

Of all the local choices, Lahlou preferred the Mission almond because, he said, “they're more reminiscent of what I grew up with.” Lahlou sounded a little wistful when he talks about the almonds he grew up with in Morocco, which he says tend to be smaller, tastier, and oilier; perhaps, he said, because the hotter climate toasts the almonds a bit on the trees.

As Lahlou explained in his cookbook, almonds are central to Moroccan cuisine, where they are often used to balance the sweetness in dishes like basteeya, a delicate chicken pie flavored with saffron, cinnamon, orange blossom water and sugar. Almonds can serve to reconcile disparate elements within a dish, making them appropriate to both sweet and savory applications.

And, of course, if you get your almonds young enough, you can eat them whole. Try shaving green almonds onto a salad. The outside will be vibrantly green while the almond inside is almost clear – more like a delicate fruit than a nut – which, of course, they are.

*Active Ingredient Recipe*

Castelvetrano Olives with Almond Cloves

Mourad Lahlou explained that when he first tasted castelvetrano olives, their freshness and crunch reminded him of almonds, and he wanted to find a way to bring that out. After a few different approaches, he finally thought decided to serve the olives with almonds. In an earlier variation on this recipe, he included garlic cloves, but people kept eating them whole, so now “almond cloves” stand in for garlic. You can find many other excellent recipes in Lahlou’s new cookbook, "Mourad: New Morrocan."

2 pounds castelvetrano olives

1 pound blanched raw almonds

Extra virgin olive oil (enough to cover)

2 tablespoons of marash pepper

12 cinnamon sticks (2-3 inches long)

One orange peel

Three preserved lemons

6 sprigs of thyme

6 sprigs of rosemary

In a large container, cover castelvetrano olives and blanched raw almonds with extra virgin olive oil. Throw in 2 tablespoons of marash pepper and a dozen cinnamon sticks. Peel one orange with a peeler and julienne three preserved lemons; throw them in with half a dozen sprigs of thyme and rosemary.

Let the whole thing rest in a refrigerator for at least a week, though it will be better after three or four weeks, since it takes a while for the almonds to absorb all of the flavors.

When you’re ready to serve, scoop some of the mixture into a pan, and place in an oven at 275 degrees, until the olives and almonds are heated through but not wrinkly (about 4-5 minutes).

Taste it and see if they’re ready. Serve with a little plate with bread to dip in the flavorful olive oil. You can also use the excess oil for vinaigrette.

Note: if you want to rush the process, you can boil the almonds to soften them up a little.