Apricot seed/pit and almond oil extract

There are three different plants, all from the same plant family:

Sweet almond--the kernel is what we eat as the almond nut.

Bitter almond--the kernel of this fruit is very bitter and toxic. It is processed to remove cyanide and used to make extract of bitter almond, which gives almond extract its flavor.

Apricot--the kernel inside the seed of the apricot (also toxic) can be processed like the kernel of the bitter almond. This extract is used as a substitute for extract of bitter almond in almond flavoring.

So, your almond extract could be from bitter almonds or apricots. Almond extract is not made from the almond nut (sweet almond.)

There may be some individuals who are allergic to more than one kernel in this plant family. The family of stone fruits includes: Peach, nectarine, plum, cherry, apricot, sweet almond and bitter almond. However, there is probably very little protein present in the highly processed oils and extracts.

Michele, in Canada there is a cookie company called DARE that now labels it's products PEANUT/NUT FREE. One of their cookies with this label is Dare Simple Pleasures Almond Cookies. I contacted them because one of the ingredients listed is Almond Extract.

In the response was this guarantee from Dare's supplier:

"We hereby guarantee that the above mentioned product does not contain any allergenic compound from the source material (apricot almond).

The process used included a distillation step of the volatile oil and several
water washing steps of the volatile oil so that the recovered product is pure
volatile oil free from any allergenic compound."

The woman also informed me that both the almond extract and the cookies were tested using the same test the government uses for testing for almond protein. They tested below the level of the test.

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I have a question. If I go to the store and buy a bottle of almond extract, how do I know where it comes from? I would use it in baking if I KNEW it was from the apricot kernel.

Well, I guess that's a dumb question. It's time to start phoning companies, isn't it.

From what I have read, the extracts made by processing the kernels of both the bitter almond and apricot kernels are chemically identical. So maybe from the manufacturer's point of view, they don't need to distinguish between the two, and may not even know which they are using.

Check out this webpage:

[url="http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/apric050.html"]http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/apric050.html[/url]

I think I will call about the almond extact for baking. I have so many recipes that call for it that I can't make any more.

Hope there is one out there that is for apricot.

Ali

The way I've been dealing with this issue is to buy McCormick's (because I trust the brand) artificial almond extract. Since dealing with this allergy, I feel safer with artificial ingredients, sadly.

if i ever buy the almond one i will definately call on it. do you use the artifical almond flavor?

Your place is valueble for me. Thanks!?
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