Slicing Almonds

[smtucker]

Today I bought a bunch of whole almonds. I am making almond & orange florentines this weekend. As I stare at this bag of whole nuts, I can't really visualize slicing them. I think I need to slice them fairly thin. Is this possible in a home kitchen without loosing my sanity or should I break down and buy the expensive sliced almonds in a bag?

[ipsedixit]

Just buy them.

Almost impossible to slice at home, esp. if you want them thin.

[Quine]

yeah. Enjoy those nice almonds with a nice roast and maybe a spice toss. They will be a great and healthy snack!

people fail to price their time into a cost factor..so far you have spent X to post this and the Y to see the posts, the W to evaluate the posts. And that does not even include the time you spend on doing whatever it is you decide to do to "save" money. Even at costing yourself out at minimum wage, you save more by buy the "darn" already sliced almonds.

[Caroline1]

If you have a food processor with a thin slicing disk, you could give that a try with a small handful of almonds just to see if it works and you're happy with the results. If it does work, let us know! Otherwise, off to the store you go!

[smtucker]

If I open the bag of almonds, then I can't return them. So, I think the prudent approach is to return the 3 lb bag of whole almonds and trade. Just didn't think this through [obviously.]

[pikawicca]

If you have a very sharp knife and lots of time, you can save yourself a lot of money slicing your own almonds. Just devote an hour to the task and put the results in the freezer. You'll be happy you did.

[todao]

I agree it requires a very sharp knife, but I believe that anyone who can thinly slice three pounds of almonds in a hour by hand is a world record holder.

[pikawicca]

Since I've never needed 3 pounds of sliced almonds at one time, this is not a problem for me.

[smtucker]

20 oz... only 20 oz. And I still don't think an hour is long enough. :-)

[bushwickgirl]

That would be a Guinness World Record holder.

[c oliver]

I don't know, pika. A whole hour? That seems like a lot of time. Oh wait, we're CHs. No problem.

[Ernie Diamond]

Sorry, I'm going to call BS on that one. Do not slice almonds by hand. It is a waste of time and money.

[Caroline1]

And sometimes fingers!

[ipsedixit]

pikawicca,

Have you personally sliced almonds yourself? Or are you just speaking from second-hand experience?

I ask because it is nearly impossible to slice almonds by hand even with a "very sharp knife and lots of time". Sure, you can "slice" the almonds but you won't get nearly the nice thin slivers that you do from professionally sliced almonds that you buy commercially.

[pikawicca]

I have, perversely lived in parts of the world where shelled, let alone sliced, almonds were unavailable. So, yes, I have sliced more than my fair share of almonds; they weren't "the nice thin slivers" you get in a bag, but they did the trick just fine.

[Veggo]

I think it depends on how many slices one wants from each almond. Five slices may make an elegant florentine, but is likely to require a couple hours of work. Six may require a bottle of Merthiolate and a box of Band-Aids.

[kattyeyes]

Nice visual. Grandmaster Flash may have said it best in "White Lines"...don't do it (baby)!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ChjLMbXVrU

Slicing 20 oz. worth would indeed be "something like a phenomenon!" But if the almonds are going to be ground up later anyway, couldn't you just cut the almonds in half and toast them? I never made florentines, so I googled and found this:

http://www.scrippscollege.edu/student...

Is this similar to your recipe, smtucker? And would that take some of the pain and precision out of the slicing?

[The Dairy Queen]

This is the Ottolenghi florentines recipe? No no no, you definitely don't want grind them in the food processor!

~TDQ

[kattyeyes]

Ahhh, OK, thank you for clueing me in. The recipe I linked above indicated the almonds were to be toasted, then ground.

I just found this picture and recipe for the Ottolenghi almond and orange florentines. I was curious because I've never seen or tasted them previously. They certainly look quite "moreish" just as suggested on the flickr page.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lottiean...

[smtucker]

Katty, I posted the menu on another thread which is why DQ knew what I was up to. One requirement for the dinner is gluten and dairy free, so these cookies with a chocolate sorbet and an orange sorbet sounded like the perfect dessert. No one will miss either allergen, I hope.

[The Dairy Queen]

Here's a photo of them right here on chowhound!

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6417...

~TDQ

[Gio]

I say make spiced nuts. Emeril has a good recipe with brown sugar, cayenne, cumin and cinnamon. Have you opened the bag, SMT? If so, try to slice a few. If it's impossible...Emeril's spiced nuts.

[kattyeyes]

I've seen lynnlato post a similar recipe for spiced nuts with garam masala. Here is Mark Bittman's recipe for Caramelized Spiced Nuts:
http://creativedelites.com/2010/01/08...
But for sure, if you need sliced nuts, buy sliced nuts. Anything else is, well, NUTS! :) Unless, perhaps, you are really nuts about slicing!

[alanbarnes]

It's not so hard to slice almonds when they're fresh. Not fresh as in not stale, but fresh as in just off the tree and out of the husk. Once they've been dried and cooked, the task gets much more daunting. Maybe a filet glove and a really tiny mandoline?

[c oliver]

Maybe one of those little garlic slicers.

[Veggo]

I think you and alanbarnes would know best, living in the state that supplies 41% of the world's almonds.

[alanbarnes]

Growers pronounce the word amənd, with emphasis on the first syllable and a short "a" as in "hat." The traditional explanation was that all the letters were pronounced until the mechanical harvester was invented. It's a device that grabs the trunk of the tree and quickly moves it from side to side, causing the nuts to fall. The farmers say the harvesters shook the "l" out of the nuts.

[Veggo]

I think if that same device were to grab and shake me that the same...oh, nevermind.

[Gio]

Actually, now that I think about this, it's practically impossible to thinly slice almonds. I suppose you could blanch them to make them softer then have a go at it. But I still say, go for Emeril's spiced nuts. Or even Mark Bittman's.

[smtucker]

So today I went to Whole Foods and measured out 20 oz of sliced almonds from the bulk bin. This is a lot of almonds... cups and cups of almonds. No way I am going to create a feast for 12 people AND meticulously slice almonds. So, I caved and took the non-chow way out.

The 3lb bag of almonds will either go back to Costco or I will make the spiced nuts suggested by Gio. However, if I make the spiced nuts, I plan to donate a cup of almonds to the cause. I will try each of the methods suggested and report back. Just for the science of it. :-)

[Caroline1]

Well, if you end up keeping the whole almonds, and if you have a fine slicing disk for your food processor, try slicing a handful so you'll know nest time. And don't forget to let us know if it works! And maybe blanching them a bit to soften them up is a good idea too?

[Ernie Diamond]

Buying sliced almonds is not the route of the lazy person, it is the route of the same person. I butcher whole pigs, I brew beer and I don't believe in shortcuts, however I would no sooner slice almonds by hand than I would peel raisins.

No one slices almonds by hand.

[Gio]

You're such a good sport SMT. Your "way out" is decidedly Not a non-chow way out. The lucky recipients of your endeavor will love whatever you choose to make on their behalf.

[Rlafol]

See my post listed under "Slicing Whole Almonds". All the tips and tricks are explained there. It can be done at home and done well. But there is a process that must be followed. the process is explained. You CAN enjoy home sliced almonds, much less expensive than buying the little bag at the grocery store.

[bushwickgirl]

Thanks for the info; very interesting technique and hopefully helpful for someone with more energy than I, but for all that work, aside from the fact that my oven doesn't go below 170° and I don't have a Presto Chipshot, I'd just rather spend the extra $ on sliced almonds, if indeed I needed to.

The company I buy my almonds from carries whole, blanched, natural sliced, blanched sliced and slivered, among other varieties, for the same price per lb.

[Rlafol]

I wish the local market carried those, but I live in a small town out in a rural area in a county that only has about 28,000 residents. So not much market here. I can get the best price for whole almonds, but sliced ones cost thru the roof here....

[bushwickgirl]

Although I live in NYC, where you can get damn near about everything, I have some ambulatory issues, so I order online. The cost of shipping is relative to what I'd pay for subway fare, with less aggravation, so I don't feel like I'm losing a thing financially. Plus I love getting packages in the mail. You do what you can, I guess, so slicing almonds works for you. Cool.

In case you're interested:

www.nutsonline.com