Almond flour verses almond meal; are these ingredients the same thing? Although, some (myself included) use the terms interchangeably, technically, they are not exactly the same.
Almond flour is the term used when referring to ground “blanched” (without the skin) almonds with a consistency that is similar to regular flour. Almond meal pertains to ground almonds with the skin left on. Almond meal is slightly rougher in consistency than almond flour, as you can see in the picture. Generally, commercially made almond meal is made with solid almond residue derived through the almond oil extraction process. The extracted oil (sold as almond flavoring) leaves the almond meal drier and a bit courser than almond flour.
As a rule, I toss unsalted almonds (with the skin) into the food processor until they are finely ground (almond meal). If I grind them longer … voila, it becomes almond butter. I use almond meal in many recipes from stuffed eggplant stacks to better than Nutella chocolate spread. The benefit of grinding your own is that you can toast them first, which I do for recipes such as, toasted almond breakfast cake.
Almond flour/meal should be kept in tightly-sealed containers or freezer bags and stored in the freezer.
