Why it works: Almond and orange are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,125 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Moist Macaroons
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slack oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the almond paste
Beat the blanched almonds to a paste with the orange flower water.
Cook and mix
In a sugar boiler, combine the almond paste and sugar, stirring over heat until it forms a string.
Let the mixture cool slightly, then add the egg whites, green angelica, and candied orange peel.
Shape and bake
Using a biscuit bag, pipe the mixture into rounds on wafer paper.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until lightly colored.
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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Almond + orangetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,125 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Almond + angelicatop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together135 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Orange + angelicatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together159 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Orange + sugartop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Orange and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,212 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Blanched jordan almonds
- Form the base paste that gives the macaroons their dense, chewy body.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the mixture and, when heated to a string, helps bind it into a stable paste.
- Egg whites
- Add moisture and structure, helping the rounds hold their shape and set in the oven.
- Candied orange peel
- Adds sweetness and a concentrated citrus flavor throughout the macaroons.
The step that matters
Cooking the almond and sugar mixture to a string. Cooking the sugar and almond paste over heat to a string stage sets the mixture's consistency. Under-cooked mixture stays too soft to pipe and hold shape, while overcooking makes it stiff and dry once baked.
Swap the angelica
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (almond, orange, sugar, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerfits about as well
- Angelicathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against almond, orange, sugar, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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