ALMONDS FOR VARIOUS FOOD PRODUCTS 5 
hard and brittle, because of the evaporation of the water during the 
baking process, whereas that prepared with oil becomes somewhat 
softer on heating, but on cooling reverts to its former consistency. 
The confection should contain about 1 per cent of salt, and to each 
100 pounds of the mixture there should be added 1.1 ounces of oil of 
bitter almonds free from hydrocyanic acid. 
ALMOND PASTE 
Probably one of the oldest and best-known uses of almonds in the 
confectionery trade is for the preparation of almond paste, a mixture 
of ground unroasted kernels, sugar, water, and flavoring, which is 
used mainly for making macaroons. As early as 1875 a patent was 
issued in this country on " an improvement in preserve compositions 
for macaroons," indicating that such a product has been in use in 
Fig. 5.— Machine for the preparation of almond confection and almond paste 
one form or another for many years. It is estimated that from 
6,000,000 to 7,000,000 pounds of almond paste are consumed in this 
country annually, most of which is manufactured by large candy 
manufacturers and sold to bakers for making cakes and macaroons. 
The manufacture of ahnond paste consists essentially in incorpor- 
ating finely ground kernels, sugar, and water into a homogeneous mass 
with subsequent cooking. The exact details of the operation are 
difficult to ascertain; in fact, it is quite probable that the several 
manufacturers do not follow the same method in detail. It seems to 
be the practice to subject the kernels to a preliminary grinding in 
order to reduce them to a granulated condition. This may be done 
with special grating machines or by passing the kernels through cor- 
rugated rolls (fig. 6). The kernels thus prepared, together with a 
portion of the sugar, are then passed through a similar machine with 
smooth rolls (fig. 7), and after the proper degree of fineness has been 
attained the mass is mixed with water and further quantities of sugar 
