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Dessert

Almond Macaroons

Almond macaroons made from boiled almond paste, powdered sugar, lemon essence, and egg whites.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By North End Club (Chicago, Ill.) · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Almond and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,655 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Almond Macaroons

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the almonds

  1. Pour boiling water over half a pound of almonds.

  2. Take the skins off the almonds and throw them into cold water for a few moments.

Make the paste

  1. Take the almonds out of the cold water and pound them into a smooth paste, adding a tablespoon of lemon essence.

  2. Add one pound of pulverized sugar and the whites of three eggs, and work the paste well together with the back of a spoon.

Shape and bake

  1. Dip your hands in water and roll the mixture into balls the size of a nutmeg, laying them on buttered paper an inch apart.

  2. When the balls are done, dip your hands in water and pass them over the macaroons gently, making the surface smooth and shiny.

  3. Set the macaroons in a cool oven for an hour.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

146Calories
7 gProtein
6 gFat
17 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By North End Club (Chicago, Ill.). 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. See the original page.

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. Almond + lemontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,655 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

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

  3. Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together53,532 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together44,316 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

  5. Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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 bulk of the paste, providing structure and a nutty flavour.
Pulverized sugar
Sweetens the paste and helps give the macaroons their body.
Eggs
Whites bind the paste and add structure and moisture.
Lemon essence
Adds aroma and flavour to the almond paste.

The step that matters

Working the paste with the eggs and sugar. The paste must be worked until smooth and well combined so the macaroons bake evenly. Too little mixing leaves a grainy texture, while the egg whites supply the binding needed for the balls to hold their shape.

Swap the almond

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

  1. Pistachiofits about as well
  2. Milletfits about as well
  3. Almondthe original
  4. Chickpeafits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, lemon, 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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