Blanched almonds???

[IBouteille]

Please... I need some help from fellow cooks! I have a recipe (macaroons) that calls for whole blanched almonds. I bought the almonds, but have no idea what "blanched" means. :confused: Can I blanch them myself or should I have bought them pre-blanched? I am very excited about making these cookies, and any advice/help from you would be greatly appreciated! :)

[zwieback]

I think blanching is the process of removing the brown "skin" from the almond. I think you can take the almonds and put them in boiling water for a few minutes and then in cold water. That helps remove the skin. I think you need to remove the skin while the almond is still hot so, only do a few at time so you can remove the skin before they cool down.

I've never done this (only read about it before) so, maybe others on the board can shed more light.

Good luck.

[gobluem82]

I have problems finding whole blanched almonds, but sometimes I can find sliced (not slivered) blanched almonds in the grocery store. Maybe you can substitute these in your recipe instead? I think blanching them by hand would be an awful lot of work.

[blazedog]

Rolling them around in kitchen towels helps remove the skin after blanching.

BLANCHING NUTS-GENERAL

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In addition to the tough outer shell, some nuts have a
thin inner lining or skin that may need removing. If so,
just before using, pour boiling water over the shelled nuts.
For large quantities, you may have to let them stand, but
only for about 1 minute at the most. The shorter the length
of time, the better. Drain. Pour cold water over them to
arrest further heatings and drain again. Pinch or rub off
skins.

BLANCHING HICKORIES

Like pecans, hickories do not need blanching.


BLANCHING BUTTERNUTS

Like pecans, butternuts do not need blanching.

ALMONDS-BLANCHING

Cover shelled nuts with cold water. Bring to a boil;
simmer 2 to 3 minutes, drain. Add cold water; drain. Pinch
nuts to slip skins.

FILBERTS-BLANCHING

Place in a shallow pan in a 250 degrees Fahrenheit
oven for 20 minutes or until skins loosen. Rub skins off
with a coarse towel or fingers.

[tholbrook]

I have a hard time finding blanched whole almonds too - I finally found them in a small local Indian market. Kind of expensive, though.

If you're going to be grinding them up for the macaroons, don't forget you could always use blanched slivered almonds.

[Grace]

Blanched almonds are the ones with the skins removed. If the almonds you bought are all "white" and no brown skin, then they are blanched. If they do have brown skin on them, you can try blanching them yourself, but honestly, the only nuts that I have had even half way decent success with blanching myself are hazelnuts. I would suggest searching out the already blanched almonds if that's not what you already have.

[Angelina]

Once you blanch the almonds, the skin soaks up a lot of water and when you touch the almond, you can feel the puffiness of the water in there...they pop really easily. You just squeeze them and if you're not careful they go flying. Sure, it's a drag and your hands prune up from all the water, but the skin comes off fast and smooth.

It used to be my very own chore when I was a kid, in preparation for the Christmas cookies. :rolleyes:

Angela

[IBouteille]

Thank you all for your advice! I had bought 4 cups of whole almonds with the skin still on. I ended up returning them and buying 4 cups of slivered almonds. I'm putting so much time and money into these cookies. :rolleyes: I hope they turn out!

I'm going to try and post the recipe in case anyong else is interested:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/105084

[blazedog]

For those near TJ, they sell ground almonds at a really good price. I used them for Christmas baking last year -- especially Gail's divine Linzer cookies. :p