Early in spring, and even in partial shade, the exuberantly delightful flowering of the dwarf Russian almond (Prunus tenella) begins, the only almond tree hardy as far north as Quebec. The almonds, small and bitter but intensely aromatic, require great caution since they contain cyanide. The unpleasant bitterness is a blessing since a normal adult can hardly enjoy eating them and we are glad that children passing by are unlikely to extract the almonds from their hard, velvety shell. And yet, throughout Europe, its characteristic almond aroma is used in modern and traditional pastries made with almond paste. They are not served as a snack like Californian almonds. The almonds of the dwarf Russian almond are used more as a spice, like cinnamon or nutmeg. So be careful: boiling them can destroy more than 98% of the poison. Roasting them also destroys it, but at a lower rate.

Create cocktails with an Amaretto flavor, flavor a syrup or cake icing, ice cream, panna cotta. Bitter almonds, the ancestor of all commercial almonds, are still grown today in Iran, Morocco, Spain and Italy, but… be careful! Self-pollinating.