Almonds

First of all, almonds are not nuts, as many believe it to be, but seeds. And the most wonderful seed at that that also serves many purpose. The utter ease with which it can be used in cooking along with a taste that is unique to it, almonds have created a niche of its own for centuries, and without which, pastries won’t perhaps taste as great. Almond that exudes the best flavor are the bitter almonds and not the sweet ones. It is their strong scent that has made them extremely popular in many parts of the world. However, there’s a flip side though, for they’re full of cyanide. This makes bitter almonds to be dangerous if consumed without proper processing done to remove the poison. Unfortunately, in spite of such a requirement, some countries have deemed it illegal to sell bitter almonds, with New Zealand being one of them. In such cases, the pip from an apricot stone, with a similar flavor and poison content, can be an excellent alternative to bitter almonds. A way to rid the almonds of its poison is to heat them, which destroys the poison. In fact, not many may be knowing the fact that the sale of raw almonds have now been banned by law in many countries and that all almonds sold is required to be heat treated to remove poison and bacteria.