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Dessert

Almond Bar

A sweet confection made from almonds, sugar, glucose, and water, cooked to a caramelized consistency and cut into bars.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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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 Bar

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the almonds

  1. Blanch the almonds and set aside.

Make the mixture

  1. In a kettle, combine sugar, glucose, and enough water to dissolve them.

  2. Cook the mixture to 270°F (132°C) or 280°F (138°C).

  3. Remove from heat and add the blanched almonds, stirring well.

  4. Warm the mixture on the bottom for just one second.

Set and cut

  1. Pour the mixture onto a slab between iron bars and spread evenly.

  2. Once cool, cut into bars measuring 1 by 4 inches.

  3. For roasted almonds, add them when the mixture reaches 270°F and stir until they just start to brown, then pour quickly.

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.

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 + sugartop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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

Almonds
Form the bulk of the bar, giving it crunch and nutty flavor.
Sugar
Forms the crystallized candy base that binds the almonds together.
Glucose
Limits sugar crystallization, keeping the candy smooth and less grainy.

The step that matters

Cooking the sugar to 270°F to 280°F. Sugar syrup must reach the right temperature to set firm when cooled. Too little cooking leaves the bar soft and sticky, while overcooking makes it hard, dark, or bitter.

“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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