ALMOND/COCONUT FLOUR

[Rhapsody]

Can anyone please help me out. I have several recipes calling for 'almond flour'. However, none of the supermarkets I visited have any. Checking for supplies on line there is an article saying why almond flour/almond meal is not good and should be avoided! They go on to list 5 good reasons why you should avoid it. I am about to do some baking for myself for Christmas and four of the recipes call for this or coconut flour. I have bought coconut flour so should I just use this instead ..... how will it affect the result? The article I mention talks about the overload of calories contained in the amount of almonds which the body cannot cope with ... or words to that effect. Are diabetics counting calories as well as watching sugar levels and I am perhaps reading too much between the lines.

 

[robert@fm]

Out of curiosity, I have myself done the web search, and of all sites talking about almond flour, there is just one (at least on the first page of results) which says to avoid the stuff. I find this deeply suspect; if there really are problems, why aren't more sites going on about them? After all, there are vast numbers of sites going on about the "health problems" of artificial sweeteners, despite the fact that those have been in use for decades, so if the "problems" reported by those sites were for real, we would by now be seeing evidence of this — proper scientific evidence, not just anecdotes on crackpot sites.

And the very first "problem" that site raises is the old red herring of "calories". The calorie-control hypothesis is predicated on the assumption that all calories are created equal, an assumption long since disproven by the invention of the LCHF diet over 150 years ago. The human body does not react to foods in the same way as a calorimeter, not at all. I suspect the rest of the page is just as dubious.

 

[robert@fm]

I have now looked through the first ten pages of the search (100 results). The outcome: ONE result saying "this stuff is bad avoid!!!", one more result (buried on page 6) reacting to the first and saying "it's not that bad, you just have to use moderation like everything else", and 98 saying no such thing. And although the fact that the first result is the very top result returned could have an innocent explanation, to my mind it's far more likely to be the result of a forbidden technique euphemistically called "search engine optimisation", that is, spamming.

The more I look at this, the more it screams "sensationalist hoax" to me.

 

[Rhapsody]

Out of curiosity, I have myself done the web search, and of all sites talking about almond flour, there is just one (at least on the first page of results) which says to avoid the stuff. I find this deeply suspect; if there really are problems, why aren't more sites going on about them? After all, there are vast numbers of sites going on about the "health problems" of artificial sweeteners, despite the fact that those have been in use for decades, so if the "problems" reported by those sites were for real, we would by now be seeing evidence of this — proper scientific evidence, not just anecdotes on crackpot sites.

And the very first "problem" that site raises is the old red herring of "calories". The calorie-control hypothesis is predicated on the assumption that all calories are created equal, an assumption long since disproven by the invention of the LCHF diet over 150 years ago. The human body does not react to foods in the same way as a calorimeter, not at all. I suspect the rest of the page is just as dubious.

Well I think that pretty well clears my mind..... I will go get some almond flour and bake ......

 

[Pumper_Sue]

@Rhapsody almond flour is the same as ground almonds, all supermarkets stock it. Coconut flour is to put things mildly an acquired taste so be warned.

 

[Rhapsody]

@Rhapsody almond flour is the same as ground almonds, all supermarkets stock it. Coconut flour is to put things mildly an acquired taste so be warned.

Well thank you Pumper_Sue. That makes my life so much easier because I have ground almond in the house. Last week I made a cake (disaster) with coconut flour instead of wholegrain but it ended up as a crumble instead. I had also used stevia powder instead of liquid so it was very dry and would not spread. It was fine as dessert with some cream!

 

[trophywench]

Ah - generally the actual recipes that have either 'nut' flour in them use more liquid and you also must use the necessary amount of baking powder otherwise the whatever won't rise at all. Must admit if it says 'a teaspoon' of BP I put at the very least a rounded one in - but TBH it's more likely to be heaped!

 

[mikeyB]

Personally, I reckon life is too short to arse about with these flours in baking. Unless, of course you are Coeliac. I just bake using standard flours and standard recipes. They taste normal, and the mouth feel is normal. Add the calories up, and use it in your daily intake. Let the other gannets in the house gobble the rest.

I don't like almond flour because the smell reminds me of an electroplating job I once did where the metal had to be soaked in a cyanide bath. And the more Almonds you gobble up, you gobble up water from Californias rapidly depleting aquifer. So as you eat it, pity the poor farmers who can't get enough water because the almond groves are nicking it all. But foodies never think about the consequences of their fashionable tastes.

And I wouldn't consume stevia if you paid me, but that's another story.

 

[KookyCat]

I love almonds (I may have been a cyanide Norah in a previous life ) and cakes benefit massively from almonds for me, but almond and coconut flour behave very differently. Coconut flour is very difficult to work with because it's gets very soggy if you put the tiniest bit too much moisture in, conversely it's like chewing grit if there's not enough. Almond and coconut together work quite well because they balance the moisture if you can get the balance right. You can get almond flour as opposed to ground almonds, but the only difference is the flour is dried so more of the fat is removed. Does make a difference to some recipes especially those with coconut because of the whole moisture balance issue. I tend to use ground almond because it's cheaper (Chinese and Indian supermarkets sell it much cheaper). You only thing you need to be aware of is you're using a lot of almond in a flour, this makes for a lot of fat, good fat, but a lot of good fat, so cakes tend to have less animal fat added to compensate. I mention that because my Mum finds they upset her stomach since she had her gall bladder removed.

Anyway I digress, in conclusion careful if you change flours because the moisture balance will be affected and you'll end up with goo...also as far as I'm aware unless you dislike almond like Mikey I don't think there's any evidence to suggest almonds are dangerous in any way if consumed in moderate quantity. Happy baking...oh and let us have the recipe if you manage to make a cake with coconut flour that doesn't taste like an omelette. I have only managed it with one recipe where the magic combo seemed to be one third coconut flour to two thirds almond!

 

[mikeyB]

I'm sure you're right Kooky, but it just seems like a lot of hard work and experimentation is needed. My years are running out😉

I think we should encourage St Mary Berry to tell you all how to do it, then you can do it perfectly every time🙂

 

[Greyhound Gal]

I can't find almond flour at all in the local Tesco, Asda, Aldi or Morrissons, only coconut flour. Where do you get it from? Is there a reputable online site anyone uses?

 

[Maz2]

I get almond flour from Holland and Barratt but it is a bit expensive. Can't find it in the supermarkets but can find coconut flour. One of the assistants in my local Tesco assures me they stock it but I cannot find it. Will ask someone next time.

I saw a recipe in Dr David Cavan's book for almond flour to make pancakes. I am sure most people on here know Dr Cavan was a Consultant Physician who specialised in diabetes and worked in Devon I believe before moving to Europe. Anyway the pancakes are very nice. Have not used almond flour for pizza though so would not be able to comment about that. Almond flour has 6g of carbs to 100g as opposed to ordinary flour's 80g to 100g.

 

[Rhapsody]

Greyhound Gal. I was told by a lovely person on the forum that Almond flour is the same thing as Ground Almond. This is all I have managed to buy so have today made a pumpkin loaf using ground almond. I have yet to try it so can't tell you what it's like. Coconut flour is available in H&B as well as our local Morrisons but at a price. I hope this helps.

 

[KookyCat]

Amazon sell almond flour and Holland and Barrett but it's very expensive, Chinese supermarkets and Indian supermarkets sell it much cheaper (we have lots of both in Manchester and the surrounding areas but it depends where you live I guess). There's honestly not a great deal of difference and I find if you "dry" the almonds overnight (bung em on a plate uncovered in the fridge) that has much the same effect 🙂

@mikeyB you're right, it's a tricky old affair I just don't like to be beaten....if only Mary would step in, I wonder if we could bribe her to adopt us 😉

 

[Rhapsody]

Greyhound Gal. I was told by a lovely person on the forum that Almond flour is the same thing as Ground Almond. This is all I have managed to buy so have today made a pumpkin loaf using ground almond. I have yet to try it so can't tell you what it's like. Coconut flour is available in H&B as well as our local Morrisons but at a price. I hope this helps.

Well, feedback on the pumpkin loaf. That together with some sort of diabetic buns that I made are probably the worst taking things ever to be laid on this planet. I will not be making them again. The buns were nothing but froth eye white mush with a few other ingredients and although they didn't fall apart, the only way to eat them is with a huge mouthful of curry! The pumpkin loaf, although nice and moist, was tasteless and frankly not worth the effort!

 

[grovesy]

Well, feedback on the pumpkin loaf. That together with some sort of diabetic buns that I made are probably the worst taking things ever to be laid on this planet. I will not be making them again. The buns were nothing but froth eye white mush with a few other ingredients and although they didn't fall apart, the only way to eat them is with a huge mouthful of curry! The pumpkin loaf, although nice and moist, was tasteless and frankly not worth the effort!

Sorry it was not worth the effort.

 

[Northerner]

Well, feedback on the pumpkin loaf. That together with some sort of diabetic buns that I made are probably the worst taking things ever to be laid on this planet. I will not be making them again. The buns were nothing but froth eye white mush with a few other ingredients and although they didn't fall apart, the only way to eat them is with a huge mouthful of curry! The pumpkin loaf, although nice and moist, was tasteless and frankly not worth the effort!

Well done for making the effort, sorry it didn't work out. Don't let it stop you from trying other things though! 🙂