The Gourmet Aldi Charcuterie Nuts You Won't Want To Sleep On

Aldi is a supermarket chain beloved for offering quality groceries at affordable prices, including specialty and gourmet items. Their broad selection of seasonal products is often highly-anticipated — such as their cheese, wine, hard seltzer advent calendars, and flavored, holiday-themed cheeses for St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, and Christmas. Aldi is complete with its own fan base and dedicated subculture, as explained on Aisle of Shame — whose name refers to the store's center aisle containing weekly rotating seasonal items.

Intriguing, irresistible, snacky-type food and fancy noshing food are two categories in which Aldi particularly excels. For a very modest investment, you can come away with all the makings of influencer-level cheese plates and charcuterie boards, complete with a worldly assortment of cheeses, meats, fruits, nuts, and more. Here's why you should get yourself to your nearest Aldi and stock up on a very special nut for your holiday spread before they're gone!

But first, what's charcuterie? Food Network explains that the word denotes meats that are served cold but can be cured, smoked, or cooked — and that a charcuterie board is an artistic entertainment phenomenon that eliminates the need for cooking and provides fun finger foods for partygoers to gather 'round and talk about. They recommend the meat and cheese, of course, but also emphasize the importance of "extras," including bread, pickles, spreads, and nuts. Among the latter, Food Network endorses sweet or spicy nuts, roasted nuts, and Marcona almonds to add texture and flavor to your board.

What are Marcona almonds, you ask? In a word: essential. Online food supplier Nuts.com notes this particular nut is hailed as the "Queen of Almonds" and comes to us from Spain. These almonds have special eating qualities owing to their home country's agricultural practices and the fact that in Europe, they don't have to be pasteurized, Nuts.com adds. They are described as smaller, rounder, flatter, and a little sweeter than regular almonds. Aldi offers Specially Selected Marcona Almonds at $4.99 for a 5-ounce bag. They come in rosemary and sea salt flavors — there's no shame in purchasing both. After all, it says right on Aldi's site that they're seasonal.

The New York Times reports that chefs and fine food purveyors alike sing the praises of the Marcona almond and that in Spain they're made into sauces and milk. Ina Garten likes her Marcona almonds simply sea-salted. Spanish Table suggests dusting Marcona almonds in smoked paprika and pairing them with a chilled, dry sherry. Their buttery flavor and agreeable texture work well in dishes like shaved brussels sprouts with Marcona almonds and pecorino and arugula with golden cherries, Marcona almonds, and Parmigiano.

You can also swap out your ordinary almonds for these extraordinary ones thanks to the wonders of Aldi. Their Marcona almonds are much easier on the wallet than what you'll find in specialty grocery stores. Almonds are nutritious and versatile: try them in Food Network's matcha-almond croissants and chocolate almond bark, or Ree Drummond's sweet spicy smokey roasted almonds. The recipe calls for both bacon fat and butter — need we say more? Marcona almonds are delicious, and the foodie-verse is going nuts over them. So don't delay — grab your reusable bags and go get just what your next charcuterie board or snacking session needs.