Almons

Almond
         

           While the almond is most often eaten on its own, raw or toasted, it is used in some dishes. It, along with other nuts, is often sprinkled over desserts, particularlysundaes and other ice cream based dishes. It is also used in making baklava and nougat. There is also almond butter, a spread similar to peanut butter, popular with peanut allergy sufferers and for itsless salty taste. The young, developing fruit of the almond tree can also be eaten as a whole ("green almonds"), when it is still green and fleshy on the outside, and the inner shell has not yethardened. The fruit is somewhat sour, and is available only from mid April to mid June; pickling or brining extends the fruit's shelf life. A popular snack in parts of the Middle East, they're eatendipped in salt to balance the sour taste.
           The sweet almond itself contains practically no carbohydrates and may therefore be made into flour for cakes and biscuits for low carbohydrate diets orfor patients suffering from diabetes mellitus or any other form of glycosuria.
           A standard serving of almond flour, 1 cup, contains 20 grammes of carbohydrates, of which 10 g is dietaryfibre, for a net of 10 g of carbohydrate per cup. This makes almond flour very desirable for use in cake and bread recipes by people on carbohydrate-restricted diets.
           In Greece, groundblanched almonds are used as the base material in a great variety of desserts, usually called amygdalota (αμυγδαλωτά). Because of their white colour, most are traditionally considered "wedding sweets" andare served at wedding banquets.
           Almonds can be processed into a milk substitute simply called almond milk; the nut's soft texture, mild flavour, and light colouring (when skinned) make foran efficient analog to dairy, and a soy-free choice, for lactose intolerant people, vegans, and so on. Raw, blanched, and lightly toasted almonds all work well for different production techniques,...