22 Almond Facts
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2015
New Almond Flour Products
Ready for Global Launch
For food manufacturers looking for a more nutritional alternative to processed four in their products,
Blue Diamond
Global
Ingredients has the solution: almond four. With all the health benefts of whole almonds, there’s no need to sacrifce taste to
create healthier, more nutritious versions of go-to recipes that call for four.
“For
Blue Diamond,
our new almond four capability opens up a wide
range of business opportunities. The new fourmill in the Turlock
Plant, is capable of using a variety of raw materials to generate
fne granulation four. We are excited to see almond four take off,”
said Bill Morecraft, General Manager of Global Ingredients at
Blue
Diamond.
“Our customers in the US and in markets around the world,
have been anxious for almond four.”
In fact, the Turlock fourmill operates in conjunction with the blanching
and natural manufacturing lines already in place in that facility. It
utilizes components of the various ingredient products that
Blue Diamond
already produces to churn out the fnest granulation of almond four
on the market. Once the product is ready, it is packaged into 25-pound
cartons and made available for shipment to customers around the world.
Global Ingredients is working on three different almond fours — two
sizes of blanched four, fne and extra fne, and one extra fne natural
almond four. Fine blanched four offers nutrition and texture to
everyday baking and cooking, and when toasted, turns a rich golden
color. Extra fne blanched four is the fnest granulation almond four
available, with a powder-like consistency that is perfect for delicate
cookies, breads and cakes. Extra fne natural four is also exceptionally
fne in granulation and is as versatile as blanched four while
maintaining a natural light tan color.
The demand for almond four is two-fold. Primarily, Morecraft
projects that the products will be used primarily for baking uses. With
its smooth mouth-feel and rich, buttery favor, “our baking customers
are going to love it!” he said.
Secondarily, consumers who have adopted gluten-free, Paleo or other
specialty diets relish in the opportunity to replace processed traditional
fours with almond four. “It’s perfect for everything from coffee cake
to cookies, pancake and waffe mixes and as a thickener for sauces or a
coating for battered meats and vegetables,” Morecraft explained.
Just how nutritious is almond four in comparison to other
processed fours?
• Almond four is low on the glycemic index (GI). Low GI foods offer
slow digestion and absorption, producing a gradual rise in blood
sugar and insulin levels. These types of foods can help maintain
weight by controlling appetite and delaying hunger.
• Each quarter-cup serving of almond four contains 6 grams of
power-packed protein, 3.5 grams of fber and 75 milligrams of
calcium. By comparison, a quarter-cup serving of all-purpose
four contains 3 grams of protein, 1 gram of fber and no calcium,
according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Household Foods
Fact Sheet.
• Almond four is high in mono-unsaturated fats, the good fats, at 13
grams per serving and is a top food source of antioxidant Vitamin E.
Almond flour is perfect for a wide variety of recipes.