Sweet and bitter almond with Kat Paeng

There are two forms of the plant, one (often with white flowers) producing sweet almonds, and the other (often with pink flowers) producing bitter almonds. The kernel of the former contains a fixed oil and emulsion. Bitter almond (Pak Hung) should not be confused with "sweet almond." Sweet almond seeds do not contain amygdalin and can be eaten, whereas bitter almonds can be toxic. The poisonous hydrocyanic acid contained in bitter almonds breaks down when heated, so the poison is unlikely to accumulate when used in any cooked dish. It is unwise to eat raw bitter almonds. Serious almond poisoning is rare in adults, but children may die after eating just a few bitter almonds.

China sweet almond (Lum Hung) is tested, it's physical item and chemical essential are same as American almond. Just their appearance shapes are different.

This sweet soup is recommended to relieve a bad cough.

Ingredients:

a handful of sweet almonds (Lum Hung)

10 pieces of bitter almonds (Pak Hung)

1 piece Kat Paeng

1 tiny piece of rock sugar

500 ml water

Method:

Pound the almonds slightly

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring it to the boil.

Lower the heat and simmer until the kat paeng is soft.

Discard the kat paeng and take the drink with the almonds warm.

Serves