Why it works: Sugar and almond 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 ↓
Almond Paste for Fruits, Etc
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 256°F (125°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the syrup
Dissolve sugar and glucose in water.
Cook the mixture to 256°F (125°C).
Finish and store
Remove from heat and add almond paste and fondant.
Stir until fully dissolved.
Store in a crock covered with a damp cloth.
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.
-
Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Provides sweetness and the sugar structure that sets the paste as it cools.
- Glucose
- Interferes with sugar crystallization, keeping the paste smooth and pliable rather than grainy.
- Almond paste
- Adds almond flavor and body to the mixture.
- Fondant
- Adds softness and a smooth, fine texture to the finished paste.
The step that matters
Cooking the mixture to 256°F (125°C). The syrup's final temperature sets how much water remains. Stopping early leaves the paste soft and sticky, while cooking too far makes it hard and brittle as it cools.
“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.
More almond paste recipes
You might also like
Almond Sponge Cake26 recipes
Almond Custard22 recipes
Almond Wafers22 recipes
Coconut Almond Cake17 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.