SC - Almond Paste

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

And it came to pass on 13 Sep 99,, that DianaFiona at aol.com wrote:

> I almost always make my own almond paste--it's ridiculously
> expensive to buy, but easy enough to make. You can indeed just grind it
> up in the food processor, adding sugar and rosewater/ water/whatever to
> taste. A couple of things to consider, though........ 

Thank you for the tips!  I ventured to try a small batch tonight.  I started 
with one part sugar to two parts almond, then increased the sugar to 
equal parts when it became evident that my homemade paste was not 
as sweet as the store-bought.  I think I added a little too much water, 
but that's okay, as the paste gets blended into a cake, not molded into 
shapes.  However, I am concerned about the fact that the store-bought 
was much more strongly almond-flavored.  Several of the recipes I found 
on the web suggest that almond paste needs to "mature" for a week or 
more until the flavor develops.  One suggested that the impatient could 
add almond extract, if they wanted to use the paste right away.  Have 
you found that the flavor strengthens with age?  And do you need to 
store the finished product in the fridge?

>                 Ldy Diana, wandering kitchenward after a piece..........

Brighid


Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
mka Robin Carroll-Mann
harper at idt.net
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