Blacklist: Solo Almond Paste

If you seek delicious results in your almond-flavored baked goods, do not purchase this product. This paste's almond flavor is anemic and artificial-tasting, rather than rich, nutty and floral. Additionally, it is extruded in a star shape into a cylindrical can, which leaves a lot of surface area exposed to the air within the can. This causes the paste to dry out, leading to an undesirably dry and crumbly texture. Many recipes call for less almond paste than is contained in a standard package. Being a lover of almond, I often snack on the remainder. The Solo almond paste, however, was so unsatisfactory that I discarded the leftovers.

My preferred almond paste is the Odense brand. This paste is beautifully redolent of almonds and comes wrapped in an airtight foil tube so the product stays fresh. The texture is moist and supple, punctuated by perfectly sized morsels of nuts to bring a strong identity of almond. I have been baking with Odense for years and will continue to do so. Odense has earned my loyalty.

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