Beverage
Pure Almond Extract
S tier
Pure almond extract is food-safe bitter-almond character—usually benzaldehyde from bitter-almond oil or a declared natural source—in alcohol or glycerin. It smells round, nutty, and cherry-stone, not of solvent alone. A few drops scent a Bakewell, a frangipane, or a sugar cookie. It is still an extract: it will not replace ground almonds for texture. Measure by the drop. A harsh, one-note bottle may be mislabelled imitation. This is the extract to write into a recipe that cares about the almond note.
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History
Pure bottled almond extract became the American baking standard once food-safe bitter-almond sources were controlled.
Pure and imitation almond extracts split on the grocery shelf by price and depth.
Natural-source labelling tightened what could be called pure almond extract.
Bakers went back to pure extract after a generation of imitation-only supermarket bottles.