Nut Processing Machinery: Almond Meal vs. Almond Flour

What is Differences between Almond Flour & Almond Meal?

Almond Flour

Almond flour is made from very, very finely ground almonds. The almonds in almond flour have been slightly processed, but not processed in a bad-for-you way. The skins of the almonds have been removed so that the desirable fine, almost fluffy texture of flour can be achieved. They are typically blanched, so that the flour is a crisp white color, just like the good wheat flour, it is mimicking. Therefore, if you want to make almond flour, the almond used must be skinless, blanched, slivered almonds.

Almond Meal

Meal in general, such as cornmeal, are made by a similar method as flour. The final grain or particle size is just a bit larger/coarser. In other words, it hasn’t been ground as finely as flour. Almond meal, though, is typically made from unblanched almonds with the skins on. This is most likely why a lot of people are gravitating towards almond meal—the skin holds additional nutrients that are lost when they are removed. The result of grinding whole, skin-on almonds is a more dense product with a slightly grainy texture.