During the summer, almonds were harvested.
I remember, as a child, mountains of almonds in my father's warehouse, which was adjacent to and communicated with the house where we lived in the municipality of Andria. These almonds were laid out to dry on huge tarps spread out on the also enormous sidewalk outside the house.
I remember the intense aroma of this fruit that spread throughout the street.
My paternal grandfather told me that the nearby Ruvo di Puglia was considered a wealthy city based on the size of its sidewalks. Their significant depth allowed for drying huge quantities of almonds, which until a few decades ago was a highly sought-after product.
The almonds were turned over during the day to facilitate their drying. Every evening, they were brought inside to our large warehouse.
We children had a task which was to walk on the almonds to better detach the outer part. With our reduced weight and a movement of our feet, the subsequent work was streamlined.
As soon as they were ready, the whole family, including relatives, would start to remove the outer shell (the now dry green one) to reveal the brown one.
A very long table set on overturned crates would be filled with almonds, and all of us would proceed to clean them while sitting on makeshift stools. On other occasions, armed with a hammer, we would crush them to extract the nut (inevitably, there were also accidental hammer blows to the thumb).
My family marketed this product as well as dried figs and carob.
My father was particularly fond of the almond nougat made by my mother.
It was very simple: sugar and previously toasted almonds were placed in a pot, and the sugar was caramelized while continuously stirring with a wooden spoon. Once ready, it was poured onto a marble surface greased with oil, shaped into a large rectangle with the help of a knife, and, once it had cooled slightly, cut into small rectangles. Everyone at home liked it.
These were our simple sweets.