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 ↓
Almond Nougat
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Measure equal parts of blanched almonds and confectioners' sugar by bulk.
Make the nougat
Place the sugar in a saucepan and heat until dissolved.
Add the almonds to the dissolved sugar, stirring rapidly.
Shape
Pour the mixture into a buttered pan.
Press into cakes using a buttered knife as it cools quickly.
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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Blanched almonds
- Provide the bulk and crunch that the set sugar holds together.
- Confectioners' sugar
- Melts to a syrup that cools into the firm, binding matrix around the almonds.
The step that matters
Pressing while still warm. Sugar sets firm as it cools, so the mixture hardens quickly in the pan. Press it into cakes with a buttered knife before it sets, because once it has cooled and firmed it becomes hard to press.
“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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