Can bitter almonds(or other nuts containing amygdalin) be made edible? I am interested because there seems to be information scattered here and there suggesting this, but offering no such instructions on just how it can be done.  What I am curious of is not now to use amygdalin-containing nuts as a minor ingredient(such as to add flavor or scent), but if they can actually be eaten as food.

So far, I have read the following:


Amygdalin, when exposed to water, releases hydrogen cyanide.
Exposure to heat denatures either amygdalin or enzymes in the nut that allow it to hydrolyze.  


If those things are true, wouldn't there be any information on making bitter almonds safe to eat?  I can find nobody describing(better yet illustrating) a process to leach the almonds, yet it seems hypothetically possible.
I think it most likely that the methods you describe are theoretically possible, but risky and not particularly cost-effective.  Whatever the mechanism that could be used to render the almonds safe for consumption, it seems difficult to confirm this in a home preparation, leaving you with some potential (even if small) that they'll still produce some cyanide upon consumption. This doesn't have to be acutely toxic; chronic consumption can also be harmful in ways that you might not even notice immediately.

So then the question becomes, why take this risk?  Bitter almonds aren't likely to be a significant food source; in this way they differ from things like cassava which provide a staple crop (and thus more incentive to develop effective, reliable ways to detoxify them).  Even if you did develop a method, if you can't be certain that someone will follow it to the letter and could get sick as a result, it seems irresponsible to share your steps.  Far safer just to avoid consuming bitter almonds.