John Myers
It smells intensely of marzipan, is only used in drops, and gives many sweet delicacies their typical character: bitter almond aroma. We’ll tell you here what you need it for, what’s in it, and how to dose it.
Finely dosed delicious: bitter almond aroma
The word bitter almond aroma doesn’t sound like a sweet treat at all. Nevertheless, the flavor enhancer is a crucial ingredient for popular delicacies such as Stollen, marzipan potatoes, or the Italian snack Amaretti. You could also use real bitter almonds for such sweets. In contrast to these, bitter almond flavoring is never poisonous and can therefore be used in the kitchen without any risk. Since it is synthetically produced, the taste is always the same. The main components of bitter almond flavoring are benzaldehyde and vegetable oil. Those who prefer it natural can also use bitter almond essence. This natural bitter almond flavor is made from bitter almonds. Incidentally, if you want to use leftover bitter almonds, you can use them to make your own natural bitter almond flavor by mixing alcohol with the kernels and leaving them to stand for a few weeks.
You can use bitter almond flavoring for this
The typical area of application for the baking aroma is sweets such as marzipan, cakes, small baked goods, desserts, chocolate, and pralines. Recipes such as our Greek almond biscuits or almond macaroons can also be spiced up with a bitter almond aroma. What all delicacies have in common is that the bitter almond flavor should be dosed very carefully so that the taste does not become too dominant. That’s why the flavor enhancer is sold in small bottles that allow you to take it drop by drop. For a pound of flour or a pint of liquid, you usually only need six droplets. Bitter almond flavoring is vegan and contains no alcohol.
This is how bitter almond flavor can be replaced
For example, you want to try delicious cupcakes recipes, the baking aroma is on the ingredients list, but you don’t have any at home? Then you can of course use real bitter almonds or apricot kernels as a substitute for bitter almond flavoring. But be careful, you absolutely have to heat both to neutralize the toxic hydrocyanic acid. Otherwise, you can use almond syrup, liqueur, or amaretto to give your creations a taste similar to that of bitter almonds. Depending on the recipe, marzipan and crushed amaretti or cantuccini can also work. Or you go in a completely different direction in terms of taste and reach for vanilla, rum, or lemon aroma.
