Name: California Nougat
Ingredients: 1 gallon apricots, rubbed through a colander; 8 lbs sugar; 3 lbs glucose; 2 quarts water; 2 lbs almonds; macaroon coconut, as needed

Why it works: Almond and coconut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,093 recipes. Both carry 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine, which smells cocoa, roasted. The science ↓

California Nougat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the syrup

Combine the apricot puree in a kettle and set aside.
In a separate kettle, mix the sugar, glucose, and water.
Cook the mixture to 330°F (165°C).

Make the nougat

Have a helper pour the hot mixture into the apricots while stirring with a paddle.
Test the mixture in cold water for a medium ball stage; if not reached, cook further over an ash fire.
Remove from heat and add the almonds and as much macaroon coconut as you can work in.

Set and serve

Press the mixture into a box lined with wafer sheets and let it set.
Once set, slice and serve.

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.

Almond + coconuttop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,093 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
Apricot + almondtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together852 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Apricot + coconuttop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together100 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,679 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Apricot + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,630 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Sugar: Forms the sweet bulk of the nougat and, once cooked, sets into a firm, chewy body.
Glucose: Inhibits sugar crystallization, keeping the nougat smooth and less prone to graininess.
Apricots: Supply fruit flavor and moisture that the cooked sugar syrup is combined with.
Almonds: Add crunch and nutty flavor that contrasts with the soft, chewy texture.

The step that matters

Cooking the sugar mixture to 330°F (165°C). The syrup's final temperature controls how firm the nougat sets. Undercooking leaves it soft and sticky, while overcooking makes it hard and brittle. Cooking to the stated temperature and testing for the medium ball stage helps reach the right texture.