blanching and peeling almonds
Blanching and Peeling Whole Almonds
By Renee Shelton
Almonds are a basic element to many recipes, and many recipes call for blanched almonds. If you can't find skinned almonds, blanching and peeling them yourself is easy and takes just a few short minutes.
Almonds are a loose-skinned nut, and they literally pop out of their skins after blanching. After skinning them, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and lightly toast in a 320-325° oven for a few minutes: not enough to toast them or to make them brown, just enough to dry them out well. And they need to be thoroughly dried before you can store them to prevent any molding. Grinding them after they have cooled will give you homemade almond flour for macarons and other baked goods.
Of course, if you need to toast your almonds, simply increase the temperature to 350° F and toast until lightly browned.
How to Blanch and Peel Whole Almonds
Ingredients:
Whole almonds with skins
Procedure:
- Boil water in a large pot. Add in desired amount of nuts and allow to boil for 2-3 minutes, depending on how much almonds are in the pot. Remove from heat, drain the nuts in a colander, and pour them out onto a sheet pan.
- Allow the nuts to cool just enough so that peeling the nuts won't burn you yet are still warm enough to easily skin them. Squeeze the almond from the rounded end, and the whole blanched almond will pop from its skin.
- When all the nuts have been skinned, dry them thoroughly in a moderately warm oven, about 300-325 degrees F, do not let them toast. Let cool, use whole or grind in a food processor for ground almonds.
- If you need them toasted, increase the heat to 350 degrees F and toast to a light brown.
Sources:
This article was first published on pastrysampler.com on March 14, 2007. It was updated on September 30, 2020.
Images by Renee Shelton, 2007.
