Country of Origin: Italy or Spain
Production: Blanching involves placing the nuts in hot water for about a minute, then cooling them off quickly in cold water and removing the skin. While blanched almonds may be slightly more processed than the unblanched almonds, their nutritional profile remains very similar.
Qualities: Almonds are a rich source of antioxidants and vitamins like B2, biotin, and E as well as many essential minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, copper, and zinc. They are also rich in dietary fiber and mono and polyunsaturated fats. Typical of many nuts and seeds, almonds contain phytosterols which have been associated with cholesterol lowering properties. A one-ounce serving of almonds contains *2% of the Daily Value (DV) of protein, nearly *5% DV of dietary fiber, *0% DV of magnesium, 7% DV of calcium, 5% DV of iron and 5% DV of potassium.
According to a recent (Dec. ***6) massive meta-analysis of *0 studies and **0,**0 participants by the Imperial College London School of Public Health published in the journal of BMC Medicine, consuming just *0 grams of nuts per day (about *0 almonds) may reduce the risk of death and chronic disease.Their results provide further evidence that nut consumption may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular disease, total cancer, and all-cause mortality, and possibly mortality from diabetes, respiratory disease, and infectious disease. These findings support dietary recommendations to increase nut consumption to reduce chronic disease risk and mortality.
Common Use: Both blanched and natural almonds are commonly enjoyed on their own as a healthy snack, raw or toasted, sprinkled over salads or desserts, and used in many culinary dishes both savory or sweet. The blanched almond has a smoother texture and thus is preferred when making almond flour and marzipan.
Storage: to preserve freshness, keep refrigerated in sealed container. Temperatures for long term storage are −3 to 0 °C (*7 to *2 °F) and low humidity