Why it works: Orange and almond 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 ↓
Almond Ice
Ingredients
Directions
Make the almond milk
Pound all the milk, cream, orange-flower water, sweet almonds, and bitter almonds in a marble mortar, pouring in from time to time a few drops of water.
When thoroughly pounded, add the orange-flower water and half of the milk.
Pass this mixture, tightly squeezed, through a cloth.
Cook and freeze
Boil the remaining milk with the cream, stirring with a wooden spoon.
Pour the almond milk into the boiling mixture.
Give the mixture one more boiling, then remove from heat and let it cool in a bowl or pitcher before pouring it into a mold to freeze.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Almond | 1 almond (1.2g) | 7 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
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.
-
Orange + almondtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,125 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Milk + orangetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,696 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Cream + almondtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,130 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
-
Milk + almondtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard-style mixture and carries the flavours.
- Cream
- Adds fat, giving the frozen ice cream a richer, smoother texture.
- Sweet almonds
- Supply the main almond flavour and body once pounded and strained.
- Bitter almonds
- Add a deeper, sharper almond aroma in small amounts.
- Orange-flower water
- Contributes a floral aroma that perfumes the mixture.
The step that matters
Straining the almond milk through a cloth. Squeezing tightly extracts the most flavour and emulsified almond solids; leftover grit would make the frozen ice cream gritty instead of smooth.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, cream, almond):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, cream, almond. 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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