2 hours ago, Jim D. said:I didn't know where else to post this question. I have made almond gianduja many times and have always ground the nuts in the food processor with success--they liquefy in a fairly short time. But this last time they did not. After so long that I worried about my Cuisinart, I added some unflavored oil; it took quite a lot of it, but the almonds finally liquefied (more or less). Unfortunately some of their flavor is gone, and I want a paste tasting strongly of almond. I have some good French almond flavoring, but of course that is mixing water with the fat of gianduja. So I began looking online for almond oil. There is lots of it available, but it's meant for salads and not for flavoring. The only one I found that looks promising is a "toasted almond oil" from France. So often nut products are rancid, especially when they are "gourmet" products that probably sit around for a while. The most frequently referenced almond flavoring made from oil is Lorann, but a little research revealed some dramatically negative reviews for its artificial taste (it's not made from almonds).
Does anyone have any knowledge of a good almond oil? Can I get away with a small amount of water-based flavoring in a gianduja?
I must confess that I don't taste much difference between the Lorann and the actual bitter almond oil that I happen to have a bottle of made by Xenex labs. The Lorann has the advantage of not containing prussic acid which the real stuff does.
And a small amount of extract probably isn't a huge problem in your gianduja anyway.
