It is an ideal flavor complement for vanilla, chocolate, maple or butterscotch, which is why it has become such a kitchen necessity.

• Sweet ideas: cookies, cakes, pies, pastries, custards, ice cream and fruit dishes, especially with: raspberries, strawberries, peaches, raisins and plums
• Savory ideas: salad dressings and sauces
• Beverage ideas: coffee, milkshakes, horchata, smoothies, limeades
• Other ideas: almond oil
• Chef’s notes: Add to any nut bread, pumpkin bread or banana bread for flavor depth or to maple syrup for a maple-nut topping.

For thousands of years, gourmands have prized almond extract for its sumptuous, full-bodied flavor. The almond can be classified as a fruit, which originated in the Middle East where its trees were planted along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. In fact, the Egyptian pharaohs flavored their breads with almond oils and Cleopatra is said to have been so enamored with the fruit that she regularly bathed in its milk.

The cultivation and use of almonds in baking later spread to Italy, where, since the 1500s, almonds have become a mainstay ingredient in cookies, jams, cakes and liquors, such as amaretto. Spanish conquistadors brought the almond seed to California, planting orchards where the heavily perfumed, flowering trees still flourish today. Almonds continue to be a widely popular ingredient used in cookies, cakes, pastries and more.

Alcohol (90%), Natural Oil of Bitter Almond, Water