Almond meal, almond flour or ground almond is made from ground sweet

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...

s. Almond flour is usually made with blanched almonds (no skin), whereas almond meal can be made with whole or blanched almonds. The consistency is more like corn meal than

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of common wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ...

. It is used in

pastry Pastry refers to a variety of Dough, doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury Baking, baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often descr ...

and confectionery – in the manufacture of almond

macaron A macaron ( , ) or French macaroon ( ) is a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meal, and often food colouring. Since the 19th century, a typical Parisian-style macaron has been a ...

s and

macaroon A macaroon ( ) is a small cake or cookie, originally made from ground almonds, egg whites, and sugar, but now often with coconut or other nuts. They may also include jam, chocolate, or other flavorings. Etymology The name ''macaroon'' is ...

s and other sweet pastries, in

cake Cake is a flour confection usually made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elabor ...

and

pie A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), fruit preserves ( jam tart ...

filling, such as Austrian ''

Sachertorte Sachertorte ( , ; ) is a chocolate sponge cake covered with chocolate glaze, with an interior layer of apricot jam either under the glaze or in the middle of two sponge layers. The cake was invented by Franz Sacher, either in 1832 for Aus ...

'' – and is one of the two main ingredients of

marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and ...

and

almond paste Almond paste is made from ground almonds or almond meal and sugar in equal quantities, with small amounts of cooking oil, eggs, heavy cream or corn syrup added as a binder. It is similar to marzipan, with a coarser texture. Almond paste is used a ...

. In France, almond meal is an important ingredient in ''

frangipane Frangipane ( ) is a sweet almond-flavoured custard, typical in French pastry, used in a variety of ways, including cakes and such pastries as the Bakewell tart, conversation tart, Jésuite and pithivier. A French spelling from a 1674 coo ...

'', the filling of traditional ''

galette des Rois A king cake, also known as a three kings cake or a baby cake, is a cake associated in many countries with Epiphany (holiday), Epiphany, the celebration of the Twelfth Night (holiday), Twelfth Night after Christmas. Its form and ingredients are va ...

'' cake. Almond meal has recently become important in baking items for those on

low-carbohydrate diet Low-carbohydrate diets restrict carbohydrate consumption relative to the average diet (nutrition), diet. Foods high in carbohydrates (e.g., sugar, bread, pasta) are limited, and replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fat and pro ...

s. It adds moistness and a rich nutty taste to baked goods. Items baked with almond meal tend to be calorie-dense. Almonds have high levels of

polyunsaturated fats In biochemistry and nutrition, a polyunsaturated fat is a fat that contains a polyunsaturated fatty acid (abbreviated PUFA), which is a subclass of fatty acid characterized by a backbone with two or more carbon–carbon double bonds. Some polyunsa ...

. Typically, the omega 6

fatty acid In chemistry, in particular in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated and unsaturated compounds#Organic chemistry, saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an ...

s in almonds are protected from

oxidation Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...

by the surface skin and

vitamin E Vitamin E is a group of eight compounds related in molecular structure that includes four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. The tocopherols function as fat-soluble antioxidants which may help protect cell membranes from reactive oxygen speci ...

. When almonds are ground, this protective skin is broken and exposed surface area increases dramatically, greatly enhancing the nut's tendency to oxidize.

References

*{{Grocers, title=Almond meal, almond paste, page=20 Almonds Food ingredients

See also

References