Getting things cooking up in the kitchen can heat up a lot of burning topics. One of the most common topics in the kitchen today is how to make those most loved recipes healthier for your loved ones. And with all the talk of health floating about you are bound to hear about almond flour and almond meal.
Almond flour and almond meal are great ingredients that are appearing in many new recipes we come across today. If you have smoke blowing out of your ears when it comes to recipes calling for these ingredients you need to read on. Below I will discuss the differences between almond flour and almond meal and whether these two products are truly interchangeable ingredients.
Ingredients and Attributes
Almond flour and almond meal contain ground almonds. So beware of nut allergies when using these ingredients in your tasty treats when baking for others.
The first difference between almond flour and almond meal that you will notice is how they each look. Almond meal is coarser and usually always ground with the skins still intact. So you will be able to visibly notice the flecks of skin in the almond meal. Almond flour is finely ground and made from almost that have had the skins removed. This will present a more flour like consistency.
But now comes the real question… are almond meal and almond flour interchangeable as ingredients?
As we discovered above, these two similar ingredients have very different textures. Due to these differing textures, depending on which you use, the texture of your end project will vary. Almond flour is perfect for fluffy cakes, giving them a light texture. For quick breads, brownies, cookies, and other more forgiving recipes either almond flour or almond meal will be okay.
The next question that typically comes to mind is if regular flour can be substituted with almond flour or even almond meal. To be honest, this isn’t the most advised method to take, especially if you are planning a 100 percent substitute. A good starting point would be to begin transitioning your recipes using a fourth of the flour called for with almond flour or almond meal. Depending on the results of this specific kitchen experiment you can tweak your recipes with slightly more or less regular flour for almond flour or almond meal depending on your tastes and the consistency of your finished baked treat.
I have found that when making brownies that they turn out amazingly replacing half of the flour called for with almond meal.
Almond meal and almond flour are popping up everywhere on grocery shelves. This baking ingredient is becoming so popular for good reason. Almond meal and almond flour add extra flavor to the majority of your favorite treats as well as adding a sprinkle of extra protein into your diet.
Once you find the perfect mix of almond flour or almond meal into each of your recipes you will quickly find that the results will always be absolutely scrumptious.