Why it works: Almond and vanilla match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,961 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Almond Comfits
Ingredients
Directions
Blanch the almonds in boiling water and remove the skins.
In a saucepan, combine sugar and water to make a syrup.
Add flavoring to the syrup as desired.
Dip the blanched almonds into the syrup, coating them evenly.
Allow the coated almonds to dry on a parchment-lined tray.
Once dry, store the comfits in an airtight container.
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 + vanillatop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,961 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, vanilla):
- Chestnutfits about as well
- Almondthe original
- Hazelnutfits about as well
- Macadamia nutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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