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Dessert

Almond Fritters

A sweet confection of almonds coated in caramelized sugar and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and almond 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 Fritters

Ingredients

Directions

Make the candy

  1. Combine glucose, sugar, grease, and water in a copper kettle; mix with a paddle.

  2. Heat the mixture until it boils, then insert a thermometer.

  3. When the thermometer reads 240°F (115°C), remove it and add almonds and salt.

  4. Lower the heat slightly and stir to prevent the nuts from breaking.

  5. Cook until the nuts crack and the mixture begins to smoke.

Strain and shape

  1. Remove from heat and pour into a large sieve set over a greased slab.

  2. Let it strain for 3 to 4 minutes, then turn the sieve upside down to release the almonds.

  3. Use a scraper to remove any nuts stuck to the sieve.

  4. Use the strained candy for making caramels or taffy.

  5. Shape the almonds into fritters, being careful not to break them.

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. Sugar + almondtop 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

Glucose
Keeps the sugar syrup smooth and prevents it from crystallizing into grainy candy.
Sugar
Provides sweetness and forms the crisp, hard candy structure as the syrup cooks.
Valencia almonds
Form the body of the fritters and give them their crunchy, nutty texture.
Good grease
Adds fat that softens the candy's texture and helps it release from the sieve and slab.

The step that matters

Lower the heat and stir the almonds in gently. Once the almonds go in, the hot syrup can scorch and the nuts can break apart if heat is too high or stirring is too rough. Gentle stirring coats the nuts evenly and keeps them whole for shaping.

“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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