How to Pick Best Quality Almonds?
Every year in October, the new crop of almonds is harvested, and it’s the perfect time to get the fresh almonds! But how should you look for great quality almonds that are just perfect for you? Well, we are there to help you with the selection.
When you are walking down the aisles of the grocery store or searching online for almonds, you would see different varieties but most common are California, sometimes European, and Mamra almonds. Different varieties of California almonds are Non-Pareil and Monterey which are round, sweet, and crunchy. These almonds are perfect to eat as is as a snack and for roasting.
Since 2017 September, all almonds from California have to be pasteurized before being sold, and usually, there are 5 types of pasteurization for an almond which are dry roasting, blanching, oil roasting, steam processing and propylene oxide (PPO) processing. Oil roasting, dry roasting, and blanching immediately make it impossible for the almonds to be labelled raw according to FDA regulations however, by choosing to use steam or PPO processing, the producer is still able to call the product raw, even though its original state has been utterly transformed.
We at Aiva sell US Fancy, Supreme, and US Extra No. 1 grade almonds which are clean, and fairly bright almonds and free from damage caused by discoloration, adhering hulls, and broken shells.
Whether to choose raw or not raw is simplify a matter of your personal choice. Almond Board of California believes that these treatments are merely surface treatments and that they do protect the nutritional properties of the nut.
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