italian dessert recipes

How To Blanch Almonds

"What is a blanched almond?"




how to blanch almonds 03 I'm embarrassed. I am close to fifty and I didn't know how to blanch almonds. My friends and family know me as a high maintenance-food-elitist-cooking-snob and yet I didn't even know what a blanched almond was! *GASP!*

What are blanched almonds?

Blanched almonds are almonds without the skins. That's it! Nothing else.

Italian cakes and Italian cookie recipes use blanched almonds a lot. Purchasing them got a little pricey!

So, a few months ago I broke through the fear of the unknown and began blanching my almonds. Never again will I be bound by avoiding something so simple - just cause I was afraid to figure it out. Here's all you need to blanch almonds:

  • Water


  • Stove


  • Almonds


  • Crash Helmet (ok, just kidding)


    • How To Blanch Almonds Step By Step

    how to blanch almonds 02 Step One

     Boil water. No need to over analyze. That simple.

    Step Two

     Once the water boils - add almonds. DO NOT GO ANYWHERE!

    Leave almonds in boiling water for ONE minute - no longer!

    Step Three

     After one minute take the boiling water off of the stove and pour into a colander/strainer.

    Immediately rinse with cold water.

    Step Four

     Now, the fun part - popping the almonds out of their skin.
    The almond skin will look like real old people's skin and should be slippery enough to come loose pretty easy. I just pop, slide and shoot. And they will shoot far if you want to make a game of it for your kids. (Do I need a disclaimer, here?)

    Step Five

     Lay the blanched almonds in a single layer to air out. I usually let my blanched almonds sit a bit before using them to cook with.

    how to blanch almonds

    What kind of almonds do I start with?

    Whole unblanched almonds. They will look the picture at the left


    How come they are soggy after I take the skin off?

    Did you boil longer than one minute? Hmmm... Really? Nobody interupted you? No kids asked a question, no dogs barking?

    Could be several reasons - humidity, older almonds, boiled too long. Bottom line - you want them dried.

    To remedy you can try the following:

  • blot with paper towel


  • put in oven that was heated to 200 degrees and then turned off


  • IF you recipe calls for toasting the blanched almonds - blot first and get as dry as possible


    • All in all blanching almonds is easy. Not a complex process. So, now that you know how blanch almonds yourself - give it a try!

    Italian Dessert Recipes With Blanched Almonds




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    Lisa Gianotti Superbowl Sunday is coming up! The best Italian Dessert Recipes for a party like this are ones that are:

    FAST

    Finger Foodish (not big hunky sticky globs of gooey-ness that get on your furniture)

    And freeze-aheads

    A couple of my favs for this are Cappucino Cookies (lots like choc chips but with a twist)

    Anisette Cookies (Always on the top 5)

    Rum Balls (Gingersnaps and Rum)

    Let's not for get the drinks to go with the beer that will be present! Check out my Italian drinks section for that.

    Lisa


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    Recipes on this site are from family cookbooks, family traditions, or intentional adaptations from traditional recipes to add an Italian flair. If a recipe was adapted or used from another cook - it is mentioned on the recipe page and the recipe author is given credit.