How to blanche whole brown almonds

to make white almonds

Last updated Sep 29, 2020 at 7:13AM | Published on Feb 18, 2019

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how to peel almonds

Why we prefer white almonds

 

  1. For a sweeter taste ( the skins can be a little tanic)
  2. Because a recipe calls for white or slivered almonds and you can’t figure out why they are more expensive to buy than the brown ones.
  3. Because you want to make almond flour, butter, or sweets or white cakes… without the brown bits.
    (You can make the milk with or without the brown skin on. )

Learn how to make them in 5 easy steps

1. Throw them in boiling water for a minute...

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It only takes a minute (literally)…2 minutes and the nuts will be too soft.

The most common way we see almonds is the brown skinned ones, after they have been shelled. White almonds seem to be a more exclusive, more expensive product, and we only ever seem to buy these when a recipe calls for it ! 

spilt almonds

You can see here that I left these almonds in the water too long. So they’ve started to cook – look at the edges. That’s ok if you’re going to grind them or use them in cooking, but if you want nice crunchy raw white almonds – don’t go over the 1 minute rule.

2. peel by hand

squeeze the nuts and the skins will slip off, revealing the white almond inside

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3. keep them contained !

best done in a contained area like the sink…guarding them carefully in your hands because when you squeeze the skin to reveal the white part, it can pop out and disappear across the kitchen !

4. Discard the skins

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The skin is mostly good for you, and also a little bad! ( see our post on “all about almonds” in the ingredients section). I tried to eat them on their own, or pulverise them to use, but it wasn’t worth it. The taste of the skin wasn’t good on its own. It was too bitter.

 

4. Now let them dry off, ready to use in your next recipe.

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How to make split, slivered almonds, almond flour and butter

They’re already just two halves sitting together and sometimes you can just use your finger and thumb of one hand to push them apart. If not, then just get out your big chef knife ( I tried a little knife but it’s too fiddly) and use the tip to find the centre, and they will easily split apart. If not, give the knife a little twist. So easy !
So then I tried to see how easy it is to finely chop and sliver – not bad at all for a first effort !
spilt almonds
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Make almond flour in a matter of seconds with the powerful Bamix chopping bowl.

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Almond butter making is well on it’s way here. I timed it and stopped the blender at just under 1 minute! 

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From here you can pack the almonds together and see the oil starting to ooze. Keep mixing it a little longer to get the oils out and make it more sticky.Keep mixing it a little longer to get the oils out and make it more sticky.

I use it literally as a butter and jam put together sometimes. I mix something sweet and fruity and maybe add a spice or cocoa – mix it together to make a really yummy spread on bread. I also have used almond butter as a replacements for ground cashews in this red pepper sauce and dip recipe – not as brilliantly creamy as the cashew but it works.

Read more about my magic wand that makes almond flour in seconds and butter in a minute !

Bamix Swissline Hand blender set with 200W blender stick, processor, jug, 3 blades and stand.

Read more about almonds and all their benefits on our ingredients page.

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