8 BULLETIN 1305, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
INFLUENCE OF MOISTURE CONTENT ON THE QU *LITY OF ALMOND PASTE 
In making macaroons from almond paste, sugar is first incorporated 
into the paste, and the resulting granular mixture is then worked into 
the beaten white of egg. The product thus prepared constitutes the 
macaroon dough, the physical character of which is of prime impor- 
tance. It should be relatively stiff; that is, it must not run or spread 
to any extent when placed in small batches in the baking pan. Dough 
which does not fulfill this condition is a failure. If the dough is too thin 
it can be corrected to a limited extent by adding more of the paste, 
but this is true only when the thinness is due to an improper ratio of 
paste to white of egg. The factors which determine the behavior of 
the paste in the dough are of the greatest importance and must be 
thoroughly understood to insure the preparation of a satisfactory 
paste. 
Many samples of paste were prepared in the laboratory from a 
supply of almonds that had been blanched for some time, but in 
every case the result was a thin dough. The proportions of the 
several ingredients — the ground kernels, sugar, and water — were 
varied, and small quantities of glucose, starch, gelatin, tragacanth, 
gluten, and dextrin were added to stiffen the dough, but to no effect. 
In general appearance and analysis the pastes were entirely satis- 
factory, but immediately on adding them to the beaten white of 
egg the latter seemed to thin out and the dough became too thin to 
retain the macaroon form when baked. 1 Almonds of other varieties 
were then blanched and made at once into paste. This paste when 
added to the beaten white of egg gave very satisfactory results. 
It was observed that the kernels used in the first experiment pro- 
duced a very pasty, sticky mass when ground, while the new sam- 
ples when ground were dry and flaky and could be crumbled with 
the fingers. This pointed to the possibility that it might be a ques- 
tion of variety, but trials with freshly blanched samples of the same 
variety as that first used gave good, satisfactory paste. When 
comparing the freshly blanched kernels with those used in the first 
experiments it was noted that the latter were much more brittle. 
Therefore some of the earlier blanched kernels were placed in a bell 
jar over a dish of hot water and allowed to stand for a period of about 
16 hours, after which they were no longer brittle but resembled the 
freshly blanched kernels. When ground the product was flaky and 
crumbly, and the paste prepared from it was satisfactory in every 
way. Evidently the kernels used in the first experiments were de- 
ficient in moisture, their moisture content being only 2.6 per cent, 
while that of the freshly blanched kernels of the same variety was 
4.4 per cent. 
In order to obtain additional proof on this point a further quan- 
tity of kernels was blanched and a portion made into paste. A 
second portion was dried in an oven until the kernels were quite 
brittle. Of this dried portion half was cracked and placed in a humi- 
dor overnight. These two samples were then ground and made 
into paste. Table 2 summarizes the moisture content and shows 
the effect of this treatment on the behavior of the pastes made from 
the several samples. 
i The writers hereby acknowledge the valuable suggestions and assistance furnished bv the Experimental 
-Kitchen of the Bureau of Home Economics in connection with the baking tests of the almond pastes. 
