1,565 easy and fully explained recipes, with +66K photos and 78 videos

This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...

The skin of the almonds

If you like almonds, in their dried fruit version, you must use them quite often in cooking or baking, whether powdered or whole.

It is not obvious, but in fact there is 2 kinds of almonds in the market, wholesale with or without the skin.

24 K 4.7/5 (15 reviews)

Keywords for this post:Almonds Dry fruit Skin White Grey

Last modified on: February 8^th 2020

For this post: Comment Follow Ask me a question Send to a friend

The skin of the almonds

For whole almonds, there are 2 versions in stores: so-called "white" or "blanched" almonds, ie without their brown skin, and "whole" almonds with their skin.

amandes blanches almonds with skin

For the almond powder, there is the same powder known as "white almonds" where they are almonds without the skin which are reduced to powder, and the so-called "gray" almond powder where they are the almonds. whole which are crushed.

poudre amandes blanches powder almonds gray

Is there a difference?

Yes, and it is important, first of all the taste: whole almonds, with their skin therefore, have more taste than white almonds, precisely because the skin participates in the taste. It's pretty easy to check, bite into one then the other, and you'll quickly feel the difference. So as a general rule, it is better to use whole almonds or gray powder, your cake or whatever you bake will be better for it.

Then there is a question of aesthetics: the white almond powder is purer, which means that it does not color the preparation in which it is incorporated, which can sometimes be something desired. The most common example is the marzipan, if you want to obtain a smooth paste and of uniform color, it is better to use white almond powder.

white almond paste

So you can see that casually, this skin of almonds which seems quite harmless has consequences on your future pastries, and (a little) on your wallet also, the powder of gray almonds and whole almonds are less expensive than the white ones.

Does this apply to all dried fruits?

No, it's often even the opposite, see for example hazelnuts and pistachios, for these 2 it's exactly the opposite, the skin does not add anything at all, it is even quite unpleasant to the taste, and it is strongly advised to withdraw it, or to buy "hulled" ones because for both it is rather painful to withdraw.

If you have to do it for hazelnuts for example, the best way is to roast them in the oven for 15 minutes at 320°F (160°C), then rub them out of the oven in a tea towel, the skin comes off in the form of a powder that you can dispose.

remove hazelnut skin

In summary: For almonds always prefer the version with the skin, much better, unless you need aesthetic purity (marzipan, macaroons), and for other dried fruits, hazelnuts in in particular, it is the opposite, prefer the version without the skin.

Lasts posts

A tablet holder

Perhaps you too cook by consulting your recipe on a tablet or phone, and putting it down on your worktop? It's practical, but not the best solution. Here's a look at how you can make an inexpensive, almost universal stand.
March 14^th 20268115

Pre-calibrated pastry dough

When making pie dough (shortbread, shortcrust, sweet...), it's always a good idea to make a lot at once, and then divide it into pieces, which you can freeze. I've already pointed out the mistake not to make, which is to form a ball before freezing. It's difficult to roll out afterwards because...
March 9^th 20269975

Butter vs. grease

We often read in a recipe where a pastry is put into a mould that, just before pouring, the mould should be buttered or greased. But what's the difference between these 2 terms?
December 1^st 20253,0525

Getting out of the fridge early

Very often when you're cooking, you need to take food or preparations out of the fridge, to use them in the recipe in progress. There's nothing tricky about this: you just take them out of the fridge and use them, usually immediately, in the recipe. But is this really a good method?
November 24^th 20251,9885

Who's making the croissants?

When you look at a bakery from the outside, you naturally think that in the bakery, the bakers make the bread, and in the laboratory, the pastry chefs make the cakes. It's very often like that, with each of these professions having quite different ways of working, but sometimes there's also one...
November 23^th 20251,812

See all posts Random post RSS feeds

Other pages you may also like

Preserving egg yolks

If you're using only the egg whites in a recipe (such as meringues ), you'll need to store the yolks until you're ready to use them again. There's nothing very complicated about this in principle - all you have to do is chill them, but there are a few pitfalls to be avoided in practice.
June 18^th 20249,0345

The 3 kinds of meringue

Meringue – what could be simpler? Just beaten egg whites with sugar added. This makes a fairly stiff mixture which can then be cooked in a cool oven to create those lovely, light confections. But in the world of professional patisserie, meringue comes in three different kinds. Even if the...
June 14^th 201366 K4.5

Stand mixer tools

Whether we call it a stand mixer, food processor, or simply refer to it by brand (Kenwood, KitchenAid, etc.), this machine is a valuable tool for amateur cooks, bakers or pastry chefs like ourselves. All these machines come supplied with 3 different tools. Let’s take a look at their names and...
November 2^nd 201939 K4.5

The window-pane test in bread-making

The home bread-makers often ask themselves “Have I kneaded my dough long enough?” . A good question, as dough that is insufficiently kneaded will not rise properly or will fall flat when the top is slashed, which is very frustrating. To know when the dough is ready, one can rely on the length...
June 16^th 202198 K 23.9

Artichoke stalks

When preparing artichokes for cooking, you may well already know that we often need to remove the first round of leaves, if they are tatty or dirty, as well as the inedible stalk. The operative word here is “remove” , rather than “cut off”.
October 25^th 201654 K4.3