Almonds

Almonds come from the fruit of the almond tree. There are two types: bitter and sweet. Sweet almonds are the ones that we eat and cook with. They can be bought whole with the skin on or blanched and skinned, halved, flaked, chopped or ground. Bitter almonds are more strongly flavoured and contain traces of prussic acid when raw. Prussic acid can be lethal in small doses but bitter almonds are processed to remove the poisons; they12ka4re then used to flavour extracts and liqueurs. The toxins are also destroyed by heat, so bitter almonds can be used in baking. Sweet almonds are among the most commonly used nuts. They12ka4re used in a variety of cuisines, such as European, Middle Eastern and Indian. They can be used as decoration, or for desserts, in sweets and pastries such as praline or the Spanish version of nougat (turron), in macaroons, marzipan and in place of flour in cakes. In savoury dishes they’re used in everything from stuffings to salads and tagines to pilau. Several recipes might tell you to toast almonds before using them, which intensifies their flavour and gives more colour and crunch. Dishes described as 12ka4amandine12ka4 are served with whole or split blanched almonds - trout amandine being a universal classic.