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Dessert

Tutti Frutti Nougat

A nougat made with sugar, glucose, gelatine, albumen, baking soda, cherries, pineapple, almonds, and vanilla.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Pineapple and vanilla match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 911 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓

Tutti Frutti Nougat

Ingredients

Directions

Make the syrup

  1. In a large kettle, combine 15 lb sugar, 7 lb glucose, and enough water to dissolve.

  2. Cook the mixture to 256 °F (125.5 °C).

  3. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Make the nougat

  1. Add 1 oz of soaked gelatine to the mixture.

  2. Incorporate 4 oz of beaten albumen and 2 Tbsp of baking soda.

  3. Mix in 1 lb of French cherries, 1 lb of pineapple, and 1.5 lb of Valencia almonds.

  4. Add vanilla flavor to taste.

Set and cut

  1. Pour the mixture into a wafer‑lined box and let it set overnight.

  2. Cut into 5‑cent slices.

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. Pineapple + vanillatop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together911 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  2. Almond + vanillatop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,961 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Pineapple + almondtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together428 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  5. Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,679 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

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

Sugar
Forms the bulk of the candy and, once cooked, sets into a firm, chewy structure.
Glucose
Inhibits sugar crystallisation, keeping the nougat smooth and tender rather than grainy.
Gelatine
Adds elasticity and body, helping the nougat hold its shape when set.
Albumen
Whipped egg white creates a light, airy foam that gives the nougat its aerated texture.
Baking soda
Reacts with the hot sugar mixture to release gas, lightening the texture.
Valencia almonds
Add crunch and nutty flavour that contrasts with the soft, chewy base.

The step that matters

Cook the mixture to 256 °F (125.5 °C). Cooking the sugar syrup to this temperature controls its water content. Too little cooking leaves the nougat soft and sticky; too much makes it hard once set.

Swap the almond

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, pineapple, vanilla):

  1. Chestnutfits better
  2. Macadamia nutfits about as well
  3. Almondthe original
  4. Hazelnutfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, pineapple, 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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