harvest time

ONE OF THE PLEASURES of eating fresh nuts is that satisfying ‘crack’ when you break open the shell — especially if the kernel remains intact. But for food writer and cookbook author Julia Busuttil Nishimura, sitting in her kitchen to shell a bowl of freshly harvested nuts also has the ability to transport her back to her childhood in South Australia.

“One of my fondest memories as a child was going to the Willunga Almond Blossom Festival each year,” she says. “Seeing all the blossoms, which would soon carpet the ground, like snow, was pure magic. Later, we would return to the orchards and buy netted bags of whole almonds. I loved their furry exterior when they were fresh and can remember being in awe of what was inside once cracked.”

The Willunga Almond Blossom Festival, now in its 51st year, is held in the last weekend in July to herald