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Orgeat Syrup

A sweet syrup made from bitter almond oil, orange flower water, plain syrup, soda foam, and alcohol.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Orgeat Syrup

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 ↓

Orgeat Syrup

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Dissolve the bitter almond oil in a little alcohol.

  2. Add the dissolved oil to the plain syrup.

  3. Stir in the orange flower water and soda foam.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

  1. Almond + orangetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,125 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Almond + syruptop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together746 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Orange + syruptop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,179 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Bitter almond oil
Provides the strong almond aroma and flavor that defines the syrup.
Plain syrup
Supplies the sweet base and body that carries the other flavors.
Orange flower water
Adds a delicate floral aroma that rounds out the almond flavor.

The step that matters

Dissolve the bitter almond oil in a little alcohol.. Almond oil does not mix with water-based syrup. Dissolving it first in alcohol disperses it evenly, so the flavor does not separate or cluster in patches.

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (almond, syrup):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Raisinfits better
  3. Figfits better
  4. Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against almond, syrup. 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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