Whole lot of shakin'

CHICO -- There's a surreal calmness in the orchard as Maisie Jane Hurtado makes her way between the rows of almond trees. Sunshine streams through the branches and dapples an orchard floor that's so clean it seems artificial.

No birds are in sight. No squirrels. Not even a breeze stirs the leaves. Overhead, the trees are loaded with nuts; the hulls are split wide open, revealing the golden nuggets inside.

Off in the distance, there's a rumble. A cloud of dust rises and a single tree begins to tremble as though it's having a personal earthquake. Almonds, leaves and loose twigs clatter down. Just as suddenly, the orchard is quiet. Before the dust settles, the shaker, a small tractor with a large tong-shaped extension, reaches out and squeezes the next trunk. The tongs vibrate, the tree trembles and for 15 seconds it's again raining almonds and leaves. Then the shaker moves on down the row, leaving a carpet of nuts on the orchard floor.

From Red Bluff to Bakersfield, the California almond harvest, with all its shaking and rattling, has begun.

"This has been a very good year for almonds," Hurtado says. "The wet spring caused some delays, but once the hot weather arrived, we got right back on schedule. Even the heat spell in July didn't damage the almond crop like it did some other types of nuts."

Hurtado, 30, is a new mom with a thriving business selling organic, flavored almonds and gift packs. If that weren't enough, she and her husband, Isidro, farm 80 acres of orchards.

Hurtado's great-grandfather Natalie Bertagna emigrated from Italy and settled in Chico. He planted a few almond trees near the family home. The generations that followed expanded the orchards and eventually formed Bertagna Orchards Inc., run by Hurtado's father and brothers Berton and Jason Bertagna.

"It is a wonderful life," Hurtado says. "Even when I was in college, I always knew I would be living here running my own almond orchards and my own business. I feel very fortunate that our family has been able to make a living farming when so many other farmers struggle to hold on to their land and survive."

Along with the Bertagna family, there are about 6,000 growers in the state who produce more than 1 billion pounds of almonds on 580,000 acres. That's about 75 percent of the world's supply of almonds. More than half of the state's crop is exported to Spain, Germany, India, Japan and Italy.

Hurtado reaches up and pulls an almond from a tree. She quickly twists off the shell and pops it into her mouth.

"I never get tired of them," she says. "These are nonpareils; they are the most popular for just eating. They are pretty, with a thin shell and a large nut with a smooth surface."

The next row in the orchard is planted with Butte almonds. Hurtado explains that they alternate the varieties in the orchard for pollination. Also, varieties ripen at different times, which keeps them separated when harvesting and leaves room for equipment to work without crushing nuts.

"Before we can begin the harvest, the orchard floor is cleaned out and the grasses removed. Then the shaker comes in and shakes the almonds out of the trees," she says.

I notice that she pronounces it "am-end," leaving the "l" sound out.

"You don't pronounce the 'l' in salmon," she says. "So why would you pronounce it in almond?"

After they are shaken out of the trees, the almonds dry on the ground for a few days before they are swept into rows and picked up by machines. From the orchard, the nuts are taken to a processing plant where hulls and shells are removed and they are sorted for quality and size.

"This is an exciting time of year because there is so much activity," Hurtado says. "In the springtime, it's really beautiful when all the trees are blooming. During the bloom, we bring in beehives for pollination, and that has been a problem these past couple of years because bees have been scarce."

The nuts begin to grow as soon as the petals drop from the trees and harvest generally takes place between mid-August and October.

"There is never really a down time," she says. "As soon as the trees go dormant in the winter, we begin pruning. And in the spring, we are managing bees and weeds. There is always something to do."

Hurtado began working in her father's orchards as soon as she was big enough to drive a tractor. In 1993, when she was 17, she started her own business as a Future Farmers of America project.

"I bought $50 worth of almonds from my dad," she says. "Then I flavored them with my mom's recipes and sold them. I took the money I made and bought more almonds and developed my own recipes. That was the beginning of Maisie Jane's California Sunshine Products."

Four years later, she processed 10 tons of almonds into flavored nuts. By 2004, she was selling 175 tons of almonds and her husband had become her business partner. They now have a country store in Chico and a thriving Internet business (www.maisiejanes.com), shipping nuts and gift baskets all over the world.

"Who would have thought a little FFA project would end up like this?" Hurtado asks.

About the writer:

• The Bee's Gwen Schoen can be reached at (916) 321-1146 or gschoen@sacbee.com.

Almond-citrus salad

Prep time: 40 minutes Serves 4

Almonds add a nice texture contrast to this beautiful salad. The recipe is from the Almond Board of California.

Note: The prep time does not include the 10-minute to 1-hour standing time for the salad.

Ingredients

 1/3 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

 1/4 teaspoon salt

 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 grapefruits, peeled, segmented

2 navel oranges, peeled, sliced

 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

6 cups lightly packed spinach leaves, torn into bite-size pieces

 2/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted (see note below)

Instructions

To make the dressing: In container or blender, combine juice, vinegar, oil, honey, ginger, salt and pepper flakes. Blend to mix thoroughly.

In a bowl, combine fruit, onion and dressing. Set aside at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour.

To serve, line four individual plates with spinach. Spoon fruit mixture with dressing over spinach, dividing equally. Sprinkle almonds over salads.

Note: To toast the almonds, spread in an ungreased baking pan. Place in 350-degree oven and bake 5 to 10 minutes or until almonds are light brown; stir once of twice to assure even browning. Almonds will continue to brown slightly after being removed from oven.

Per serving: 304 cal.; 8 g pro.; 31 g carb.; 18 g fat (2 sat., 9 monounsat., 7 polyunsat.); 0 chol.; 186 mg sod.; 7 g fiber; 22 g sugar; 52 percent calories from fat.

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Almond-chocolate bars

Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Makes 48 bars

This recipe, from the Almond Board of California, makes a brownie-style bar cookie.

Ingredients

1 cup butter or margarine

 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/4 cups diced almonds, roasted, divided use

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate pieces

Instructions

Cream butter with both sugars. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Stir in flour and  1/2 cup of almonds. Spread in a 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle hot base with chocolate pieces; spread to cover base as it melts. Sprinkle with remaining  3/4 cup almonds, pressing them lightly into chocolate. Cut into squares while warm, but do not remove from pan until cold.

Per bar: 107 cal.; 1 g pro.; 11 g carb.; 7 g fat (3 sat., 3 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 15 mg chol.; 2 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 56 percent calories from fat.

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Garlic almonds

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Makes 2 cups

This healthy snack is from "Party Nuts! 50 Recipes for Spicy, Sweet, Savory and Simply Sensational Nuts" by Sally Sampson (Harvard Common Press, $12.95, 80 pages).

Ingredients

2 cups whole almonds

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons finely minced garlic

 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place all ingredients in a bowl and toss until nuts are well-coated. Transfer nuts to prepared sheet and arrange in a single layer. Place in oven and cook until nuts begin to color, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel to drain; set aside to cool before serving.

Per  1/4 cup: 229 cal.; 7 g pro.; 7 g carb.; 19 g fat (2 sat., 13 monounsat., 4 polyunsat.); 0 chol.; 0 sod.; 4 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 75 percent calories from fat.

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Almond chicken stir-fry

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes Serves 2

Serve this stir-fry dish with steamed rice for a quick dinner on a busy night. The recipe is from the Almond Board of California.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

 1/2 cup whole blanched or natural almonds

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, in  3/4 inch cubes

2 tablespoons each sherry and soy sauce

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon sugar

 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 package (6 ounces) frozen snow peas, thawed

2 tablespoons sliced green onions

Instructions

Heat oil in wok or heavy skillet. Add almonds. Toss until browned, about 5 minutes. Set aside. Add chicken to wok; toss 3 minutes. In small bowl, mix sherry, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar and ginger. Stir into chicken. Cook and stir until thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in snow peas, onion and reserved almonds. Heat through. Serve with hot, steamed rice.

Per serving (without rice): 606 cal.; 39 g pro.; 20 g carb.; 40 g fat (3 sat., 6 monounsat., 13 polyunsat.); 68 mg chol.; 1,398 mg sod.; 7 g fiber; 8 g sugar; 60 percent calories from fat.