Mandorla Sicilia
Elenka product code 261
A Sicilian almond paste dosed at 130 grams per litre of mix — high, because almond is a quiet flavour that needs volume to register. Beyond gelato it is the base for granita di mandorla and for almond milk, which is how it is actually used in Sicily.
Specification sheets are supplied to trade customers on request.
About Mandorla Sicilia
Almond is the most under-used nut in Australian gelato. It is not fashionable, it does not photograph like pistachio, and it is quietly one of the best things a Sicilian ingredient range can offer.
What it is
A paste made from Sicilian almonds, which are the island's other great nut and the backbone of its confectionery. Elenka is a Palermo company and this is a domestic product for it rather than an import — the almond equivalent of what Piedmont is to hazelnut.
Why the dosage is 130 grams
Because almond is quiet. A pistachio paste at 80 grams per litre of mix announces itself; an almond paste at 80 announces very little, and the result is a tub that customers describe as creamy without being able to say what it tastes of.
At 130 grams the flavour has presence: sweet, faintly bitter at the finish, with the marzipan note that makes it recognisable. This is the clearest example in the range of dosage tracking intensity rather than quality — the highest-dosed nut paste here is not the weakest product, it is the most restrained ingredient.
That much paste is a real fraction of the mix, though, and it brings fat and sugar with it. Recalculate the balance rather than substituting weight for weight against a pistachio paste. The figure is quoted per litre of mix.
The two uses nobody in Australia offers
Granita di mandorla. Almond paste, water and sugar, churned to a coarse texture. It is a completely different product from gelato, it is what Sicilians eat for breakfast in summer with a brioche, and almost no Australian site sells it. For a gelateria looking for something that is not another flavour, this is a more interesting answer than another flavour.
Almond milk. The paste dispersed into water and sweetened. Made this way it is a long way from the cartons in a supermarket, and it works both as a drink and as a component in vegan gelato work.
Neither has a published dosage, because both are a matter of preference. Start well below the gelato rate and build.
Where it goes in the cabinet
Alongside the other Sicilian references rather than as a lone curiosity. Almond, cassata and pistachio next to each other tell a customer what kind of gelateria they are in, where any one of them alone reads as a single unusual flavour.
What we do not publish
Ingredients, allergens, shelf life and storage conditions are absent from this page because no Elenka specification sheet is held for the Australian range. Absent means the data is not held, never that the answer is no. Almond is a declarable tree nut in Australia and the obligation falls on the business serving the customer.
Technical specifications
| Recommended dosage | 130 g per litre of mix — High by design: almond registers late and needs volume. |
|---|---|
| Format | 3 kg pail, 4 per carton |
| Applications | gelato, granita, almond milk, pastry cream |
| Elenka product code | 261 |
Full specification on request
The ingredient list, allergen declaration, shelf life and storage conditions for Mandorla Sicilia are provided on the Elenka specification sheet. We supply it on request — please do not rely on the product name when answering a customer allergen enquiry.
Related products
Croccante di Mandorla
Caramelised Sicilian almonds processed by hand into granules. It has two lives: sprinkled at service it is a decoration, and worked into a mix at 130 to 150 grams per litre it is a flavouring with the authentic taste of almond brittle.
Code 1972 kgCassata Siciliana
A compound paste that reproduces the Sicilian cake rather than a single flavour, built on freeze-dried ricotta and candied fruit. The 250 gram dosage is high because most of what is in the pail is the cake's own components, not a concentrated flavouring.
Code 737N5 kgPistacchio Oroverde
Elenka's flagship pistachio paste, made from Sicilian pistachios grown on the volcanic soil around Etna and toasted lightly enough to keep their floral top notes intact. Dosed at 80 grams per litre of mix, it gives a delicate, long-finishing pistachio rather than a loud one.
Code 4791 kgArachide
A peanut paste made from skilfully toasted peanuts, dosed at 100 grams per litre of mix. Peanut is the nut Australian customers already know best and the one almost no gelateria carries, which is the entire commercial argument.
Code 5562.5 kg
Frequently asked questions
Why is the dosage so much higher than a pistachio paste?
Almond is a quieter flavour than pistachio or hazelnut. At 80 grams per litre it reads as a vague creaminess rather than as almond, so the paste is dosed at 130 to give it presence. Dosage tracks flavour intensity, not quality.
Can I make granita with it?
Yes, and it is one of its principal uses in Sicily. Granita di mandorla is almond paste, water and sugar, churned coarse — a genuinely different product from gelato and one very few Australian sites offer.
How do I make almond milk from it?
Disperse the paste into water and sweeten to taste, then strain if you want it clear. The proportions are a matter of preference rather than a published figure, so start well below the gelato dosage and build.
What does 130 grams do to my balance?
It brings substantial fat and some sugar into a quarter of the recipe's solids budget. Recalculate rather than adding it to a base built for an 80-gram nut paste, or expect a heavy, slow-melting tub.