Why it works: Almond and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,245 recipes. Both carry 2,3-pentanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Salted Almonds
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the almonds
Blanch the almonds by pouring boiling water over them and letting them sit for a moment.
Transfer the almonds to cold water and rub them between your hands to remove the skins.
In a bowl, combine the almonds with melted butter or salad oil and stir well.
Let the mixture sit for an hour, then sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Bake and serve
Spread the almonds in a clean baking pan and bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven.
Stir occasionally until they turn a delicate brown, about 15 minutes.
Sprinkle with a little more salt as they come out of the oven.
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 + buttertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Almonds
- Form the crunchy body of the snack and brown to a nutty flavor when baked.
- Melted butter or salad oil
- Coats the almonds so the salt sticks and they toast evenly without drying out.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the almonds on the surface and adds a savory contrast to their sweetness.
The step that matters
Stir occasionally while baking. Almonds have a thin skin and small size, so they can move from delicate brown to scorched quickly. Stirring exposes all sides evenly to the oven heat, so they brown uniformly instead of burning in spots.
“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.
You might also like
Almond Soup60 recipes
Almond Salad6 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.