Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Bold Flavor, Blue Diamond Smokehouse Flavor Almonds Impress!


The Good: Great flavor, Good ingredients
The Bad: Fatty, Fairly expensive
The Basics: Perhaps the ideal for a basic, flavorful, snacking almond, Blue Diamond Smokehouse flavor almonds are well worth trying!


Every now and then, I encounter a product that I like, but is hard to describe. Usually, this comes in the form of products that have a name that does not describe the product well. In food reviews, this is usually the result of products with an adjective name, as opposed to a name that describes the flavor of the product. In the case of Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds, I discovered I enjoy the flavor as an ideal, basic flavored almond (as opposed to the generic flavor of their Roasted Salted Almonds, reviewed here!) . . . but trying to describe or compare the flavor to anything else became a surprisingly difficult task.

I’m not sure what a “smokehouse” is supposed to taste like, but for a bold, salty flavor that is reminiscent of a meat smoker . . . I suppose the Smokehouse Almonds live up and they are certainly well worth trying (and stocking up on!).

Basics

Blue Diamond Smokehouse flavor Almonds are a ready-to-eat snack that provides a semi-healthy option for salty snack consumers. Packaged in a 6 oz. cardboard canister, the Almonds are well protected. After removing the safety seal, consumers have access to the almonds that are dusted with a thick flavor salt that gives them their Smokehouse flavor. The Blue Diamond Smokehouse flavor Almonds come in a resealable container that seems to work adequately to keep other flavors out.

With their strong coating of flavor salt, the Smokehouse Almonds look like a processed, flavored almond. Each 6 oz. container has six 1 ounce servings easily dispensed through the wide mouth of the container.

Ease Of Preparation

These are roasted nuts, so preparing them is as easy as opening the canister they come in and consuming them. There is no trick or work needed to eat Smokehouse flavor Almonds.

Taste

The Smokehouse Almonds smell salty and rich, like the after-scent of a meat smoker or a humidor. The scent is like that of barbecue sauce that has been charred on a grill and then left of the grill and salted. Even the aroma of the Smokehouse Almonds is tough to describe.

On the tongue, the Smokehouse Almonds are salty and taste like mesquite flavoring. The salty, rich flavor is accented by a dryness that is accurately described as “smoky.” The flavor of the salt coating completely overwhelms even the hint of the natural buttery flavor of the almonds. The Smokehouse Almonds are definitely a flavor intended for those who want the flavor, not the taste of the nuts they coat.

The Smokehouse Almonds have a strongly salty aftertaste that stays in the mouth for about three minutes after they are consumed.

Nutrition

Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds pass themselves off as a healthy snack, but the fat content in them makes it hard to get too enthusiastic about using them for “part of a healthy diet.” That said, I was pleased by how the Smokehouse Almonds possessed some much-needed vitamins and minerals. A serving is considered 28 grams which is about an ounce (an estimated twenty-eight nuts). One serving is 170 calories, with 140 of those calories coming from fat. With the standard recommended serving size, the nuts have 16 grams (24% RDA) of fat! 6% of one’s RDA of fat comes from the one gram of saturated fat! With 8% of the RDA of calcium and six grams of protein, these nuts are full of nutrients. In addition to potassium (190 mg) and a comparatively minor amount of salt (150 mg – 6% RDA - sodium!), these nuts have iron, Vitamin E, and Magnesium in reasonable quantities.

The ingredients list for the Smokehouse flavor Almonds is exceptionally short. Blue Diamond are made primarily of almonds, vegetable oil and salt. There is nothing unpronounceable in these nuts.

Storage/Clean-up

Just as with the preparation, Blue Diamond Smokehouse flavor Almonds are low stress when it comes to storage and cleanup. Storage is simple when the nuts are kept in their canister at room temperature or cooler. Kept sealed in their canister, these nuts would not have expired until March 6, 2017 (though they did not last that long because I ate them!). They are a good snack to stock up on.

Blue Diamond Almonds are easy to clean up after as well. Simply wash your hands after eating to get any stray salt off. There should be no other residue, but if there is, it may easily be wiped away with a damp cloth.

Overall

Blue Diamond Smokehouse flavor Almonds might be hard to describe, but they are wonderfully flavorful and well worth trying. Anyone who wants a salty, flavorful nut to enjoy will find these nuts definitely fit the bill!

For other Blue Diamond nut reviews, please visit my reviews of:
Strawberry Almonds
Dark Chocolate Almonds
Salt ‘N Vinegar Bold Almonds

7/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my Random Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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