Why it works: Almond and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,679 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Light Macaroons
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the almonds into small pieces.
If using bitter almonds, soak them in egg whites.
Mix ¾ pound of sifted almonds with 1½ pounds of sifted sugar.
Bake and shape
Brown the almonds in the oven until they are a clear color.
Combine the browned almonds with the remaining sugar and the egg whites until the mixture can drop from a spoon.
Wet your hands and lightly touch the tops to make them shine.
Let them cool before removing from the paper.
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 + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Almond + eggtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sweet almonds
- Forms the main body of the macaroons and gives them their nutty flavor.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown when heated.
- Egg whites
- Bind the almond and sugar mixture and help it hold its shape.
The step that matters
Combining until the mixture drops from a spoon. The mixture needs enough moisture from the egg whites to hold a shape without becoming runny. Stopping at the right consistency keeps the macaroons from spreading or turning dense.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg):
- Pecansfits about as well
- Almondthe original
- Chestnutfits about as well
- Milletfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against 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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