Why it works: Dates and walnut work together. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and 303 recipes mention both. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: egg, wheat, tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Also mentioned in the method: flour
Directions
Prepare the batter
Separate the eggs; beat the yolks and set aside.
Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
Put the dates and walnuts through a meat grinder.
Mix the ground dates and walnuts with the sugar.
Add the beaten yolks to the mixture and beat.
Fold in the beaten egg whites.
Sift the baking powder and flour together, then add to the mixture and beat thoroughly.
Bake and serve
Bake the batter in a thin sheet pan until set.
Cool completely, then cut into bars.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Dates + walnuttop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together303 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Walnut + eggtop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,912 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Dates + eggtop 13% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together737 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Yolks add richness and moisture, while whipped whites lighten the batter and help it rise.
- Dates
- Add sweetness, moisture and chewy body to the bars.
- Walnuts
- Add crunch and a toasty, nutty flavor that contrasts with the soft dates.
- Flour (in the method)
- Provides structure so the batter sets into a sliceable bar.
- Baking powder (in the method)
- Releases gas as it heats, giving the batter lift and a lighter crumb.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Whipped whites hold air that gives the batter lift. Stirring them vigorously deflates the foam, so fold gently with a spatula until just combined.
“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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