Do you know what almond petals are? How to make them at home? If not, then our article will be very useful for you. We wish you success in the kitchen!

general information

First, let's figure out the petals. The almond kernels, peeled from the brown skin, are cut into thin plates. They resemble petals or flakes in appearance. They can be consumed salted or toasted. But most often housewives use almond “petals” to decorate pastries and desserts (for example, ice cream, cakes, biscuits, muffins). It turns out to be a real culinary masterpiece.

We need:

• 1 liter of water;
• 50 g whole almonds.

Detailed instructions:

Step # 1. Put the whole almonds on the table. We split each of them with a heavy hammer. But we do it carefully to avoid damage to the inner (white) part.

Step number 2. We take out the kernels in a brown skin. It is from them that we will subsequently make almond petals. Place the kernels in a glass bowl. Fill with cold water. The liquid must completely cover them. Leave the almonds in this form for 24 hours. Do not forget to change the water periodically. Such actions will rid the kernels of bitterness and yellowish tint.

Step number 3. At the end of the day we clean the grains, using a universal knife for vegetables. The skin is removed quickly and easily. You just need to pick up the edge with a knife and pull it.

Step number 4. Transfer the peeled kernels to a cutting board. With another (sharp) knife, cut them as thin as possible. If you get almost transparent and slightly oblong petals, then we did everything right. For those who want to save time, we suggest cutting the almond kernels not lengthwise, but across.

Step 5. In a dry and cold frying pan with a non-stick coating, send the "petals". We dry them with minimal heat. Be sure to stir. This will get rid of excess moisture. The almond flakes will take 5-7 minutes to dry.

Step number 6. We transfer the "petals" to the plate. You can decorate dessert with them or add to baked goods, after grinding in a mortar. Many people throw away almond shells as useless. However, it can be used to give a richer color to alcoholic beverages (liquor, cognac, etc.).

Almond Petal Pie

Grocery list:

Practical part

1. Lay out all the ingredients before starting cooking. Let them stand at room temperature for at least half an hour.
2. Break eggs into a bowl. Pour in kefir in the right amount. Pour in white sugar, but not all, but 150 g. Beat these ingredients using a powerful mixer.
3. Flour should be combined with baking powder. Pour through a sieve into the egg-kefir mixture. Turn on the mixer again. Beat at low speed.
4. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with special paper. Pour in the dough carefully. Be sure to level it.
5. Place the form with the contents in a preheated oven (200 ° C). The baking time of the cake is 10 minutes.
6. Let's start preparing the fill. Put a 100-gram portion of butter in a saucepan. We melt it. Next, pour in two types of sugar - white (100 g) and vanilla (bag). Add honey and milk there. We mix. We put almond petals. We cook all this, setting a low fire. We are waiting for the complete dissolution of the sugar crystals. We remove the pan from the stove.
7. It's time to get our pie out of the oven. Distribute the previously prepared fill evenly over its surface. You can immediately notice that the almond petals are covered with an oil-sugar shell. Put the cake in the oven again. This time you will have to wait 10-15 minutes. Before serving, the baked goods must cool and the top crust must harden. Enjoy your tea party!

Afterword

Almond petals not only give the dessert a great look, but also add calories. This should be taken into account by those who follow the figure. The calorie content of almond "petals" is 50 kcal / 100 g.

Almond flour - this is a very important ingredient for making delicious airy cookies and pasta cakes, which are loved by all sweet tooth, without exception. This ingredient is a powder of almonds. Almond flour has special properties, so replacing it with regular flour will be problematic. Many hostesses tried to use wheat flour in the process of making pasta, but in the end they got a completely different dessert. That is why it is impossible to find a substitute for almond flour, since no ingredient is suitable for its properties.

This product is used not only for making cakes, cookies and other baked goods. Almond flour is often added to meat dishes and fruit or vegetable salads, as well as various fillings for sweet pastries. The ingredient gives a nutty flavor to dishes and also significantly improves their taste.

Sometimes it happens that finding almond flour is quite problematic, and it cannot be replaced. The only way out is to make a product with your own hands at home. We will tell you exactly how to cook almond flour in our article.

How to do it yourself?

You can make almond flour yourself at home. To do this, you need to stock up on the required amount of ingredients, as well as set aside some free time. The process of making almond flour with your own hands is as follows:

1. Take almonds and rinse thoroughly in running water, then put them in a deep container and pour boiling water over them. Leave the ingredients to infuse for ten minutes.
2. After the required amount of time, the water must be drained, and then peeled from the almonds and put into a dry plate.
3. In order to get quality almond flour, you need to use dry nuts, so you will need to dry them before starting the grinding process.
4. You can dry almonds either with napkins or in the oven. To do this, you need to warm it up to a temperature of 60 degrees and leave the nuts in it for a few minutes until it is completely dry.
5. Now you need a blender or coffee grinder. Pour dry almonds into a container and turn on the appliance while chopping the almonds.
6. The resulting mass must be sifted through a fine sieve, and what remains in it, grind with a coffee grinder again. Then the flour needs to be sieved again, and so on until after sifting the coarse sediment no longer remains.
7. Spread the finished almond flour on the paper to allow it to dry, then put it in a bag or plastic container and store in a dark place.

Homemade almond flour will turn out to be not quite the same as store-bought flour, since special units are usually used in industries that grind nuts more efficiently. But flour made with your own hands will be more useful than the one that you can buy in the store.

Store almond flour for one to three months in a cool, dark place.... Learn more about creating a product at home in the video below.

The use of almond flour in cooking

In cooking, almond flour is used both for baking and for complementing all kinds of salads and meat dishes. So, most often this ingredient is used to make French pastries called pasta. They are small, round cookies with a delicious crust. Also, cakes, muffins, cheese cakes, pancakes, charlotte and even bread are made from almond flour. Some pastry chefs make delicious sweets and casseroles from this product, and almond flour is sometimes added to American pastries called macarons.

Sometimes the name "Almond powder" is found in culinary recipes, and many hostesses get confused, not understanding whether it is the same as almond flour. They are actually two names for the same ingredient, so if a recipe requires almond powder, you can use almond flour with peace of mind.

Almond flour is often added to marinade for meat, seasoned with fruit salads, and also added to canned vegetables.

The calorie content of such a product is quite high: 600 kilocalories per hundred grams. Products made from almond flour are not recommended for people who are on a diet and keep fit.

Benefit and harm

Almond flour is a healthy food, but it can also be harmful if used incorrectly.

This product contains a large amount of fatty acids, B vitamins, potassium, calcium, and many other trace elements. Thanks to this composition, the use of almond flour helps to improve gastric motility, strengthen immunity and supply the body with the necessary vitamins.

This product can be harmful if you have an individual intolerance to almonds. Also, when trying to lose weight, almond flour will do the opposite.

It's not difficult to add variety to your menu - just show your imagination and not be lazy. Usually, the incentive for this is a dish that you tried in a cafe or at a party, and literally fell in love with its taste. In this case, the real hostess will not be able to sleep peacefully at night until she repeats this masterpiece with her own hand. Exotic ingredients in the recipe, unknown before and / or rarely found on sale, can become an obstacle on her way to the goal. Almond flour is one of those ingredients, without which it is impossible to prepare some delicious desserts. Fortunately, you can make almond flour at home. This process ensures its freshness and quality, giving you a new culinary experience.

Plus, flour made from almonds or other nuts is a great alternative to premium wheat flour. Just substitute almond flour for wheat flour in any recipe, and the finished dish will turn out to be not only delicious, but also healthier.

Almond flour: composition, properties and features
Almond flour, often referred to as almond powder due to its fine grinding and white color, is nothing more than crushed grains of sweet almonds. Although white powder is obtained only if the almonds are pre-peeled, otherwise the flour will have a beige tint. The main area of \u200b\u200bapplication of ground almonds is cooking and specifically confectionery art. Nutritionists and people on a low-carb diet are using almond flour even more often, replacing refined flour with it not only in baked goods, but also in many other dishes. In all cases, almond powder does an excellent job of thickening, breading and dough base. But it has proven itself best of all:

• Almond flour for marzipan. Together with sugar syrup, it forms a plastic mass - an edible "plasticine" for the formation of sweets, decorative figures and other edible decorations, dessert bread and many others. dr.
  
• Almond flour for macaroon. These French almond-based cakes are at the height of restaurant fashion right now.
  
• Almond cake flour is used to bake biscuits, muffins, pies, breads, and more.
  

Obviously, almond powder will find its way into your kitchen anyway. And at the same time, it will contribute to the health of the household, because in terms of nutritional value, it is much superior to refined flour. Almond flour retains the chemical composition and all the properties of whole kernels. And this is at least 30% protein with a complex amino acid composition, valuable fatty acids, dietary fiber and complex (so-called "slow") carbohydrates. Unlike premium grain flour, which is practically devoid of vitamins, almond flour contains vitamin E, several B vitamins and carotene. It contains a lot of potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and calcium. Of course, all these ingredients will not make a sweet dessert or sugar cookie low in calories and completely harmless just due to the fact that it contains almond powder. But against the background of other confectionery products, such sweets will be preferable. They have a light nutty flavor, an especially delicate texture and fill quickly, so you won't eat much, even though any dish with almond flour is delicious.

Homemade almond flour
So, are you impressed with the properties and qualities of almond flour and want to experience them as soon as possible? Great idea, but as for the main ingredient, you can search in stores or make almond flour at home yourself. It is not as easy as many confectionery gurus promise, but it is also so difficult as not to cope with this task with the right amount of accuracy and patience. But before you start making almond powder at home, decide what exactly you are going to cook. The preparation of raw materials and the very technology of grinding almonds into flour will depend on this. There are only two options:

1. White almond flour, or almond flour made from peeled almonds, is a snow-white powder used in the recipe for delicate desserts, biscuit dough, and some types of cakes. It takes longer to cook because it involves peeling the almonds. If your recipe calls for the use of white almond flour, then put the almonds in a deep bowl and completely cover with very hot water. Leave for 5 minutes, then drain the hot water, and rinse the kernels with running cool water. Then again pour boiling water over the almonds and wait about 10 minutes. After this time, the steamed skin can be easily removed.
   
2. Almond flour made from unpeeled almonds is used in many recipes where the color of the powder doesn't play a key role, such as with chocolate. This includes baked goods, salads, and many other dishes. In this case, preparation of almonds can be limited to picking out spoiled kernels and rinsing in cool water.
   

Peeled or just washed almonds must be dried before grinding, otherwise you run the risk of getting soft almond gruel instead of powder. Ideally, the kernels should be spread out in one even layer in a dry and well-ventilated place, preferably in the light, and left for at least two days. But, since most modern chefs have no time to wait so long, you can speed up the process by drying the almonds in the oven. Heat it to about 85 ° C. Cover a baking sheet with parchment and sprinkle the almonds in one layer, after cutting each core into 2-3 pieces with a knife. Keep the almonds in the oven for no longer than 20 minutes to prevent them from burning and retaining a white color. Stir the kernels once during this time. You can dry almonds in a dry frying pan, but then it will be more difficult to protect them from overcooking. Cool the dried almonds completely (you can even in the refrigerator) and start grinding in one of the following ways:

1. Almond flour in a blender. Pour dried almonds into a blender bowl, no more than half its volume. Turn the machine on at medium speed for 20 seconds, then tap on the sides of the bowl to shake off any adhering flour particles. Turn it back on for 20-30 seconds, knock it off the walls and use the prepared almond powder according to the recipe. When cooked in a blender, it will not be as finely ground as a coffee grinder can.
   
2. Almond flour in a coffee grinder requires a special approach, but it turns out to be very thin and delicate. But, if the device works for too long, then the blades will have time to heat up and turn the almonds into a paste instead of flour. Therefore, grind the almonds in a coffee grinder in short bursts of 15-20 seconds, taking breaks between them.
   
3. Almond flour without coffee grinder can be made in a food processor (the choice of the mode depends on the features of the model) or even in a meat grinder. In the second case, be sure to roll the almonds several times to break up the remaining large pieces of kernels.
   

It is advisable to use almond flour immediately after cooking. Over time, it loses its delicate aroma and cakes into lumps. Although the fatty acids in almonds and almond flour are stable and do not go rancid, oxidative stress is best avoided. To do this, store the remaining almond flour in a jar under a tight lid without moisture and use as soon as possible. Be sure to sift the flour through a sieve before adding to the dough. In principle, you can also keep almond flour for a long time - but then you have to pour it into an airtight plastic container and put it in the freezer. But in general, as you can see, both the preparation and use of almond flour is not particularly difficult and does not cause much trouble. And they certainly get lost against the background of the opportunities that almond powder provides to a skilled and inventive cook. Therefore, we wish you inspiration and, of course, bon appetit!

Cooking, perhaps, can rightfully be considered a science. This activity can be amazing and addictive! To cook tasty and high-quality, to keep in mind a lot of recipes, to be able to combine a variety of products or to cook “candy” out of nothing - you really need to be born with this talent. However, the gods do not burn the pots! So we can slowly replenish the "baggage" of our knowledge!

Almond flour: scope of application

Almost everyone loves pastries (butter and unleavened), as well as others.However, few people know that not only traditional wheat or rye flour, but also, for example, almond flour, is used to prepare pasta, buns or cakes that are dear to our hearts. The last is made from almonds, which are ground. At home, this can be done with a coffee grinder. In the food industry, of course, special mechanisms are used. In confectionery, almond flour is added as one of the main ingredients to nut fillings and creams used to fill candies, etc. It is used to produce nut-protein and nut-sand semi-finished products. She can be included in everything, both rich and ordinary. Almond flour is also used as an independent dish.

And that's not it! With this flour, soups and sauces are brought to the desired density (in the process of preparing some national dishes). Moreover, it does not lose the special aroma inherent in the almonds themselves, a delicate aftertaste and matures all the useful properties of this wonderful nut.

Not only is almond flour a must for the cream that stuffs buns and tartlets. She is real for those who care about their figure. Its energy value is much lower than that of wheat or those we are used to. It also contains much less starch and gluten. In this regard, even Mukarzhanaya is inferior to her. And for people with allergies, almond flour is shown more than others.

We do it ourselves, we cook it ourselves!

Before letting the almonds "in business", it must be cleaned of the bitter brown skins in which the grains are hidden. If you do this "dry", the process will take a long time. Therefore, there is a simpler option. Below is its description.

Almonds are folded into a container and immersed in boiling water for 10 minutes. Then it is taken out, washed in cold running water and again sent to boiling water at the same time. After - it is rinsed again, cooled down and cleaned. After such procedures, the skins are removed very easily, and the nucleoli literally pop out of them themselves.

Here's a little more important information to help you make the best use of almond flour.

• Peeled almonds dry well. If you do this in a natural way, then you need to wait a day or two. To speed up the process, the almonds are sent to the oven - laid out on a covered baking sheet and dried at a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius. It is important not to let it burn!
• When the beans have cooled down, they are poured into a coffee grinder and the device is turned on for just a few seconds. Then the grinder is shaken (otherwise nut crumbs will stick to its blades). Then the process is repeated until the final result. But the process should be interrupted every 18-20 seconds, because the blades heat up very quickly, and the almonds secrete oil, and the flour itself can turn into obscure lumps.
• If you have a meat grinder instead of a coffee grinder, the process will be identical. Only the entire mass is passed through the unit twice.
• Finished flour should be stored in a tightly sealed jar or bag, always in a dry place. She is afraid of dampness and moisture, instantly "piling up".
• When adding flour to the dough, it is first sieved so that it is evenly distributed in the dough itself.

Advice: if you need dark flour - for biscuits, cream, you do not need to peel almonds, they are ground with skins. This does not affect the taste!

Sometimes you want to surprise everyone at home and cook something extremely tasty. An incentive for this can be a dish that you first tried in a cafe, restaurant or at a party. Sometimes exotic, unfamiliar or almost uncommon ingredients can become an obstacle to achieving the goal. Almond flour is just such a product, without which it is impossible to prepare some dishes and desserts. But if almond flour is not found at the moment in the store, it can be prepared at home.

What is this product?

A powdery mass of white color - this is what almond flour or powder looks like. These are nothing more than finely ground grains of sweet almonds. Flour of exactly white color will turn out only if the almonds are peeled. Otherwise, the powder will have a beige tint.

Where are ground almonds used?

The main area of \u200b\u200bapplication for such a product as ground almond kernels is, of course, cooking and confectionery. It is used to prepare:

In addition, almond flour is used as an additional ingredient in the preparation of many types of dough, and it is also found as an independent dish. Powdered almonds are also used in the preparation of sauces and soups of Mediterranean cuisine. Thanks to the nut addition, the dishes are thicker, with a delicate aroma and delicate taste.

Varieties of almond flour

Almond flour is of two types:

1. Plain almond flour. It consists of finely chopped blanched almonds.
2. Partially fat free. This product is made from almond seeds after cold pressing from them oil. This is a rarer almond flour, the price is correspondingly higher for it. You can buy it for 500-700 rubles per pound. Low fat has some advantages over simple, here are the main ones:

This allows the fat-free almond flour to be used to make a more uniform dough with a neutral taste. It is also good for noodle dough, cheese cakes, biscuits and even pancakes. Regular almond flour, which is more expensive than wheat flour, is ideal for crumbly baked goods with more nutty flavors. In both varieties, there is a whole range of useful vitamins and minerals, because the powder contains the same substances as whole almonds.

Preparation process for making almond flour

Since this product can not always be found in stores and retail outlets, some housewives have adapted to cook it on their own. Therefore, almond flour at home is made quite often. In addition, this process ensures the freshness of the product and gives housewives a new culinary experience. It’s not as easy as many say, but it’s not that difficult either. With accuracy and patience, even a novice cook can cope with this task.

Before making almond flour, you need to decide what kind of flour you need:

In the first case, snow-white powder is used to make delicate desserts, biscuits, and some types of cakes. Making white almond flour takes much longer as you first need to peel the almond kernels. To do this, put the nuts in an enamel bowl and pour hot water over them. After the almonds have been in the water for about 5 minutes, drain the water. The grains are washed with cool water. Then again pour boiling water and leave for 10 minutes. After these procedures, the skin is easily removed from the almonds. Unrefined almond flour is used to prepare many dishes. The recipe for these dishes is such that the color of the nut powder does not matter. These include chocolate sponge cake, salads, etc. Preparing almonds for such flour is quite simple: you just need to sort it out and rinse it in cool water.

Drying almond seeds

After the almonds have been washed, peeled and sorted, they must be dried. After all, wet nuts do not make almond flour at all, but a soft gruel. The ideal option for drying grains is as follows: the kernels must be spread in one layer on a dry and bright place for two days. It is desirable that this place is well ventilated. But there is a faster drying method. It is necessary to preheat the oven to 85 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchment and sprinkle almonds in one layer, after cutting each into 2-3 parts. It is not recommended to keep almonds in the oven for more than 20 minutes, otherwise they may burn and the white color of the flour will be threatened. The kernels must be thoroughly mixed during drying. Only cooled almonds are the basis for preparing a product such as flour.

How to make almond flour at home?

All processes for preparing almond seeds for grinding are fully completed. Now you can get down to the most important thing. So how to make almond flour and what is needed for this? It can be obtained in several ways:

1. In a blender.
2. In the coffee grinder.
3. In a food processor.

It is advisable to roll the almonds several times on any equipment to obtain a homogeneous mass without large pieces. Flour is best used immediately after it has been cooked to avoid loss of flavor. You can store the product in a hermetically sealed container or in the freezer.