ALMONDS FOR VARIOUS FOOD PRODUCTS 
Table 2. — Effect of moisture content of almond kernels on the behavior of the paste 
in macaroon dough 
Sample 
Treatment 
Moisture Character of ground kernels and 
content behavior of paste 
No. 1 
None; only surface moisture from 
blanching removed with fan. 
Blanched kernels dried overnight in 
. oven at 70° C. (158° F.). 
Kernels from sample No. 2 cracked 
coarsely and kept in humidor over- 
night. 
Per cent 
4.84 Ground kernels crumblv; dough 
No. 2 . 
satisfactory in every way. 
1. 28 Ground kernels nastv and smearv: 
No. 3 
5.84 
dough very thin. 
Ground kernels crumbly; dough 
exactly like that from sample No 
1. 
From Table 2 it is evident that the thinning action of the paste on 
the white of egg is inherently related to the moisture content of the 
kernels themselves. The kernels used in the experiments which 
resulted in faulty paste had been blanched about four months pre- 
viously and kept in glass jars. Consequently, they were thoroughly 
dried out, and apparently it was the drying that effected changes in 
the character or in the proportion of the constituents of the kernels 
which accounted for the peculiar behavior of the paste. Further- 
more, it is not merely a question of the moisture percentage carried 
into the paste by the kernels, since by adding more water to the paste 
itself the behavior in the dough is not improved. On the other hand, 
if the necessary moisture is first restored to the kernels before grind- 
ing, as in the case of sample No. 2 in Table 2, the behavior of the 
kernels is evidently restored to normal. Further evidence may be 
found in the fact that loss of moisture from the paste itself when it 
stands in an open container does not give the peculiar thinning effect 
to the dough that has been described. 
The importance, therefore, of moisture control in the blanched nuts 
can hardly be overestimated. The necessity for maintaining the 
moisture percentage within a range of 2.5 to 6.5 per cent can be 
readily appreciated. The general appearance of the paste is no cri- 
terion as to what its behavior will be when made into dough, and it 
is conceivable that without this control of moisture large quantities 
of unsatisfactory paste could be prepared from overdried kernels and 
get into the trade with results that would be quite harmful to the 
manufacturer. Excessive drying at an increased temperature imme- 
diately after the kernels have been blanched or a slow gradual drying 
out of blanched kernels when stored is apparently certain to bring 
about this trouble. These forms of drying can be prevented by careful 
control day by day or by not storing blanched kernels for any con- 
siderable time. 
In all the later experiments almonds of the California Drake variety 
which had been shelled at least one year previously were used, but 
by controlling the moisture content of the kernels after they were 
blanched no trouble was experienced with the paste. It is evident, 
therefore, that as long as the kernels remain unblanched no change 
takes place which affects the physical behavior of the paste even 
when the kernels are comparatively old. 
5064— 24f 2 
