Almond flour

Premise

Queen of dried fruit, almond is also used for the preparation of flours, widely used in the confectionery industry. So much so that almond flour is the basic ingredient for the preparation of many traditional (marzipan) and innovative desserts.

Almonds: botanical analysis

The almond is the seed of Prunus communis (Family Rosaceae ), an arboreal plant from the height of 12 meters. The almond is not the fruit of the homonymous plant: the fruits are green, oval and not very fleshy drupes containing the seeds (almonds, in fact), edible. In this regard, a distinction must be made: only sweet almonds are edible, because the bitter variety contains poisonous cyanogenetic compounds [taken from Dizionario ragionato of herbal medicine and phytotherapy by A. Bruni, M. Nicoletti].

Types of almond flour

On the market, there are two types of almond flour:

Flour obtained from shelled almonds
Flour obtained from shelled and peeled almonds

In order to reduce costs on the final product, generally the flour is obtained starting from broken almonds - or in any case not perfect - during the selection of the whole, destined for direct consumption.

The value of almond flours also consists in the origin of the raw materials: the flours obtained from Italian almonds certainly boast greater value than the foreign ones.

Nutrients and properties

Being an oil seed, it is understandable how the caloric power of culinary specialties based on almond flour is particularly high: 100 grams of almonds (or almond flour) bring well 603 Kcal, corresponding to 2, 523 Kjoule. The dried almonds are rich in fats (55.3 g / 100 g of product), protein (22 g / 100 g of product), and poor in water (only 5.1 g per 100 g of almonds).

For these reasons, almonds are a very energetic food; furthermore the seeds, whole and ground, are a source of mineral salts (remineralizing properties), especially calcium, useful in the processes of both bone calcification and the regularization of cardiac activity. Furthermore, almonds have antiseptic, laxative and emollient properties; also show mild antidepressant properties.

Almond flour: use

Despite the many beneficial properties of almonds, it should be remembered that the flour obtained is not used to exploit its peculiar "therapeutic" qualities. Most of the time, the use of almond powder is reserved only for culinary uses, to enrich desserts or as a basic element for bakery products. Almond flour, mixed with refined sugar, is the famous almond paste, ductile and malleable, used to decorate or cover cakes.

Furthermore, almond flour is useful for preparing soft macaroons and sweet creams.

Raw Cheese Ricotta - Almond Cheese

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Marzipan

Almond flour can also be made by hand, by finely chopping or crushing almonds. Before grinding them, it is good to remove the almonds from the skin that surrounds them: in this regard, it is advisable to dip the almonds in boiling water, dry them with a cloth and toast them in a hot oven. After that, we proceed by pounding the almonds with a mortar together with a little water, in order to obtain a homogeneous paste.

Marzipan is made with almond flour and sugar: therefore, the almond powder must be added to the sugar, after having melted it in a pan. The mixture is worked with a pestle and, having reached a fairly solid consistency, we proceed to knead with our hands.

Marzipan: ingredients

250g shelled almonds (or almond flour)
500 g of sugar
½ glass of water

Summary

Almond flour: to fix the concepts

almond flour	Basic ingredient for the preparation of many traditional (marzipan) and innovative desserts
Almonds: general botanical aspects	Almond: seed of Prunus communis Family: Rosaceae Description of the plant: tree plant with a height of 12 meters Almond fruits: green, oval and not very fleshy drupes containing seeds (almonds)
Types of almond flour	Flour obtained from shelled almonds Flour obtained from shelled and peeled almonds
Almond flour: nutritional characteristics	100g of almonds make: 603 Kcal (2.523 Kjoule) 55.3 g of fat 22 g of protein 5.1 g of water Almonds are rich in mineral salts, especially calcium
Almonds and almond flour: properties	energy mineralizing laxative antidepressant Almonds are also exploited for their antidepressant and emollient properties (in general, the consumption of almond flour is not intended for these purposes)
Almond flour: uses	Purely culinary uses: almond flour is used to enrich cakes, as a basic element for baked goods, soft macaroons and sweet creams Marzipan: to decorate or cover cakes