Making food calls for different measures of preparing the ingredients needed to complete the menu. Eggs need to be poached before Eggs Benedict could be assembled; beef braised and allowed to cool till the next day before resuming cooking to accomplish Beef Short Ribs and chicken meats may have to be fried before it could be popped into the oven for baking. Similarly, blanched almonds are necessities and they are used a lot in preparing true Italian recipes.
Blanching is the simple process of boiling skinned almonds for a minute and immediately removing it from the heat. It is sieved to drain the hot water then it gets rinsed with cold one. The almond skin, now wrinkled can easily be popped and the nut slid out of it. By then, one should have white, skinless almonds.
Blanching is done to terminate the bacteria that may be present in the food before storing it in the fridge so spoilage can be prevented. In the case of almonds, some recipes do not require its skin along with it. Almond paste for instance is easier to obtain if almonds are crushed without the skin, as the latter may be too difficult to mash. The skin could also affect the color of the finished product which any cook may want to achieve; instead of a creamy white paste since including the skin may turn it to a brown mush. Powdered almonds that would garnish a cake are still better off without the skin.
Blanching has never been a complex process and even kids may enjoy doing it. The key is not to overdo the boiling of the almonds as the nut may become drenched in water and turn a little soggier than expected. Should this occur, the almonds may be heated in the oven for a while until all the excess water is vaporized.
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