If they are raw or roasted, almonds will have their skin; if they are bleached, they will be skinless. Almonds contain a lot of oils and, as you probably know, oils tend to go rancid if stored in poor conditions. That means you need to make sure that your almonds are not exposed to hot temperatures, changes in temperature, or humidity. Yes, almonds spoil when stored for too long or under suboptimal conditions.
Raw almonds stay fresh for at least one year and up to 2 years at most. Unopened almonds will retain their quality for at least one week after the expiration date. Once opened, deterioration accelerates, so it's best not to store it for extended periods of time. Almonds are a portable healthy snack.
Although natural and raw almonds may sound like two names for the same thing, they are different. Natural almonds still have their skin, whether they have been cooked or not. All California almonds, which would be virtually all almonds in the country, are heat pasteurized or treated with a fumigant. Fortunately, Marcona almonds, with their rounder shape, smoother texture, and sweeter flavor, closer to marzipan than a conventional American almond, are becoming increasingly popular in the United States, and as Americans learn about pasteurizing almonds, demand increases of these unpasteurized products, and the desire to know what exactly is happening with raw almonds on their way to the market.
To get your hands on raw almonds in the United States that have not been pasteurized by either steam or PPO, you must import them. Sorry, I thought the REASON they're not sold raw is because of the cyanide in almonds and that heat treatment (or other) was needed to make them safe. If shelled almonds appear yellowish when cut or have a honeycomb pattern, it means that the almonds are stale. Steam pasteurization, for example, is a process by which almonds are jetted with heat, as the name suggests, from steam to kill any potentially harmful bacteria, but a steamed pasteurized almond has basically been cooked at 165°F and therefore cannot be truly raw, even if the nut is never cooked toast before it grieves you.
In a state of panic, I drove to the nearest Trader Joe's and bought as many jars of truly raw almond butter as I could store in my pantry. And there are problems with the two most common methods of pasteurization if a consumer is looking for a truly raw almond. Well, I realized that once I couldn't find any raw almonds, and I wondered if that would be the case every time. While you will most likely buy shelled almonds, you may wonder if there is any difference between shelled and shelled almonds.
Almonds are no longer grown from germinated almonds, they are grafted onto fruit trees, this eliminates bitter almonds (cyanide). Imported almonds are still grown from sprouts, and they are allowed 20% bitter nuts in their products. So not only are raw almonds from the grocery store not raw, but they could also have been sprayed with a possibly carcinogenic gas. In fact, producers are allowed to export their unpasteurized almonds to other countries, so the law is not about consumer safety and, unfortunately, it seeks to have the California Almond Board protect its market share.
I just called Costco and asked what method they use to “sterilize” almonds, and they use PPO ???? I guess I'll go return my almonds.
