Why it works: Walnut and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 993 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Cream Nougat
Ingredients
Directions
Make the egg base
Whisk the egg whites in a copper pan until light and stiff.
In a small pan, combine ¾ pound of sugar and ½ pint of water; cook to 250°F (120°C).
Pour the hot sugar into the beaten eggs while continuously beating to mix thoroughly.
Make the syrup and combine
In another copper pan, combine the remaining sugar, glucose, and ½ pint of water; cook to 260°F (130°C).
Remove from heat, stir in the sugar and glucose mixture, and keep stirring until white and creamy.
Slowly stir in the egg mixture, then add the almonds, walnut meats, and vanilla flavoring.
Set and cut
Lay nougat wafers in a frame on a marble surface and pour the nougat mixture over them.
Place additional wafers on top and cover with a board.
Let it sit overnight, then cut into bars of desired size.
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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Walnut + almondtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together993 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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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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Walnut + vanillatop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,730 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Walnut + meattop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,035 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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
What each ingredient does
- Egg whites
- Whipped to a stiff foam that gives the nougat its light, airy structure.
- White sugar
- Cooked to a syrup that sets firm as the nougat cools, giving it body and sweetness.
- Glucose
- Inhibits sugar crystallization, keeping the nougat smooth and chewy rather than grainy.
- Valencia almonds
- Add crunch and body to the chewy nougat base.
- English walnut meats
- Add crunch and a toasty, nutty flavor to the nougat.
The step that matters
Pouring the hot sugar into the beaten eggs. The sugar must be hot and poured in a thin stream while beating constantly, so the syrup cooks the egg whites into a stable foam without deflating. Pouring too fast or letting it cool can leave the mixture lumpy or loose.
Swap the walnut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, meat, almond, vanilla):
- Chestnutfits better
- Pistachiofits better
- Hazelnutfits about as well
- Walnutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, meat, almond, vanilla. 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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