Almonds

Almonds are grown on trees native to the Mediterranean, Middle East and Southern Asian countries. Almonds are not actually nuts they are dupes (or stone fruit). They are related to peaches, plums, nectarines and cherries! There are two types of almonds, bitter and sweet. Bitter almonds are used to produce oil while sweet almonds are sold for consumption.

Almonds can be used in baking, cooking and the production of other products. They can also be used as decorations. Sliced almonds are beautifully sprinkled of cakes. Almonds can be used in savoury recipes like in the British favourite the chicken korma!

Almonds also make good snacks, they are very portable and healthy and are low in carbohydrates. For a slightly less healthy option, you can also find almonds coated in chocolate or sweet yogurt!

Products made from almonds

Almonds can be used to make a lot of different goods is especially good for people with special dietary requirements! You can find almond butter and almond milk in most supermarkets.

Almond flour is almonds ground to a fine powder and is commonly used as a gluten-free alternative to plain flour.

Ground almonds (or almond meal) like almond flour is made from almonds but has a courser texture.

Bear in mind using an almond product instead of flour will give your baking a more dense texture. It is usually better to follow a recipe that especially uses almond meal or flour.

Almond nutrition information

There are about 576 calories per 100 grams of ground almonds.

Almonds have high levels of fibre, calcium, vitamin E, riboflavin and niacin. They have good amounts of protein, magnesium and potassium!

They are also low on the glycemic index making them a good snack for people with diabetes.