Wait, Almond Extract Isn't Made Out Of Almonds?

Almond extract has a very distinct taste — sweet, bordering on slightly fruity — that you can't miss in baked goods. However, this common flavoring agent isn't always made from almonds. Almonds are technically a stone fruit, which makes them related to cherries, plums, and peaches. In fact, you can actually eat an almond fruit while it's young, seed and all, but they spoil so quickly that they aren't a viable harvest for most to enjoy.

The distinct flavor of bitter almond oil, which is the compound you taste in almond extract, is called benzaldehyde, which also happens to be present in things like peach and cherry pits. Once these fruits are used for other manufacturing purposes, the pits are still useful as a source for almond extract flavoring. There are genuine extracts made from bitter almonds, but in most cases you'll find that you won't notice the difference, since a little of the stuff goes a long way (it's powerful). That's why almond extract is one of those things that'll probably stick around in your pantry for a long time after you purchase it.

There is one fact about peach pits that's potentially alarming, and it's that they contain a tiny bit of amygdalin, which is a compound that your digestive system can break down into cyanide. (Yep, that cyanide.) That being said, it's small enough of an amount that you'd have to eat a monstrous amount to even feel any effects of it, and you can neutralize the amygdalin by applying heat to it for an extended period of time. Bitter almonds and appleseeds also have amygdalin in them, but again, you'd have to go out of your way to eat a large quantity of them to do your system any harm.

So even though almond extract might not always be made of almonds, its base component is generally the same thing, which is why it works as an extract even if it's from peaches. I wouldn't feel (too) betrayed by the labeling; it's just something to know, and you can enjoy that almond-flavored frosting and pine nut-studded pignoli cookies without having to think twice about it.