Almond Meal, Almond Flour & Blanched Almonds

Raw Almonds

photo from www.kettleofnuts.com

Blanched Almonds

photo from www.thefloweringgarden.com

Almond Meal: Ground up raw almonds with the skin. Just pop into a food processor or blender and blend until it turns into almond meal.

photo from tkithealth.com

Almond Flour: Usually made with blanched almonds (raw almonds with the skin removed). Removing the skins makes the flour better for baking, I think. Once the skin is removed and almonds are dry you can blend to make almond flour. A lot of recipes call for "almond flour" since it seems to bake better & have a more softer consistency instead of a more coarser texture that almond meal brings.

photo from www.pastrypal.com

   Making baked goods with almond meal I have come to not like the texture of the baked good, since it seems like the almond meal doesn't really fuse with itself. Its more gritty...hate to say. My taste has changed I guess. So I decided to try to "make" blanched almonds to make almond flour. I used it for the pizza crust and I must say I do like it much more! Very satisfied. Can't wait to try it with my recipes where I used almond meal. Here are directions on how to do it yourself. I got the steps from cookinggodsway.com , great website & has some good recipes that are grain-free.

"You will need:
 Raw (shelled) Almonds
 Saucepan
 Strainer/Colander
 Paper Towels

How to do it: 1.In a saucepan large enough to hold the almonds, add plenty of water and let it come to a boil. Remove from the heat.
 2.Add the raw (shelled) almonds and let sit for 1 minute.
 3.Drain the almonds and run under cold water immediately, until cool enough to handle.
 4.Hold an almond between your thumb and fore-finger, squeeze to slide the skin off.
 5.Let drain on paper towels.

Important Note: Do not soak the almonds in the boiling water too long, or they can become soggy."