Why it works: Almond and orange are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,125 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Macaroons
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the almonds
Blanch, skin, and dry the almonds.
Pound the almonds with a little orange-flower water or plain water.
Make the paste
Add the sifted sugar and the beaten egg whites to the almond mixture.
Mix all ingredients well until the paste is soft.
Shape and bake
Drop the mixture at equal distances onto sheets of wafer-paper using a biscuit syringe.
Place a strip of almond on top of each macaroon and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) until light brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.
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 + orangetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,125 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Almond + eggtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Sugar and orange barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,212 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
- Sweet almonds
- Provide the main body of the paste, with their oils adding richness and flavour.
- Sifted loaf sugar
- Sweetens the macaroons and helps them brown in the oven.
- Egg whites
- Bind the almond and sugar into a paste and give the macaroons lightness and structure.
The step that matters
Mix all ingredients well until the paste is soft. The paste needs to be smooth and soft enough to pipe evenly, but not overworked. Thorough mixing distributes the egg whites and sugar through the almonds so the macaroons bake with a consistent texture.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (almond, sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against almond, sugar, egg. 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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