Why it works: Lemon and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,655 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Apple Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Peel and quarter the apples, removing the cores.
Place the apples in a deep pot or jar, adding the peels and cores on top.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven until the apples are soft.
Remove the peels, cores, and any hard bits from the top.
Transfer the apples to a saucepan and add powdered sugar to taste.
Boil for four hours until the mixture is thick.
Pour into molds or cups and cover with paper moistened with brandy.
Store in a dry place; it will be ready to cut in three weeks.
Optionally, add grated lemon rind or a few drops of lemon essence and chopped blanched almonds before molding.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Lemon + almondtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,655 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Apple + brandytop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,291 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,551 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Apple + almondtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,025 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Almond + brandytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,969 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the lemon
The recipe marks lemon as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apple, sugar, almond, brandy):
- Apricotfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against apple, sugar, almond, brandy. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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