Almond meal

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Almond meal and almond paste are made from ground sweet almonds, after the extraction of almond oil. It is similar to marzipan, but contains less sugar.

They are used in pastry and confectionery — in the manufacture of almond macaroons and other sweet pastries, in cake and pie filling. It's one of the main components of the Swedish traditional dessert semla, as well as the bear claw pastry. In France almond meal is called frangipane and is an important ingredient in the traditional Galette des Rois cake.

Almond meal has recently become important in baking items for those on low carbohydrate diets. It adds moistness and a rich nutty taste to baked goods. Items baked with almond meal tend to be calorie dense.

Almond meal has a low heat conductivity.

[edit] References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 edition of The Grocer's Encyclopedia.