Why it works: Almond and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,514 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Burnt Almonds
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the almonds
Sort the almonds to ensure uniform size.
Make the first sugar coating
In a kettle, mix 6 cups of sugar and 1 quart of water; heat until it reaches 240°F (115°C).
Add the almonds and stir gently from the sides to the center until the candy granulates.
Remove from heat and stir until the sugar is dry and the almonds are separated.
Pour into a coarse sieve and shake off the excess sugar.
Make the second sugar coating
Dissolve the sugar in the kettle with just enough water, then heat until it reaches 250°F (120°C).
Add the almonds and stir briskly until the syrup granulates, then sieve and shake off the sugar.
Repeat the process with half of the remaining syrup, adding a pinch of cinnamon before heating.
Glaze and dry
For a glossy finish, mix powdered gum-arabic with water and coat the nuts in the kettle.
Place the coated almonds on trays to dry.
Once dry, add enough confectioner's glaze to dampen slightly and dry again on trays.
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.
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Almond + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,514 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Sugar + syruptop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,842 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Syrup + cinnamontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together990 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Almonds
- Form the crunchy core that the sugar coating is built around.
- Sugar
- Forms the crisp, granulated coating that gives sweetness and crunch.
- Gum-arabic
- Provides a glossy finish on the coated nuts.
The step that matters
Stirring the almonds until the syrup granulates. Sugar must be stirred as it cools and recrystallises, so it turns dry and grainy rather than forming a sticky mass or a hard sheet. Stirring too little leaves clumps; the syrup temperature controls how the sugar crystallises.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, syrup, cinnamon):
- Almondthe original
- Chestnutfits about as well
- Pistachiofits less well
- Hazelnutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, syrup, cinnamon. 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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