Why it works: Mace and clove are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,400 recipes. Both carry methyleugenol, which smells clove, spice. The science ↓
Almond Soup
8 personsIngredients
Directions
Make the broth
Boil the lean beef or veal, vegetables, and spices gently in water until the gravy is very strong and the meat very tender (about 4 to 5 hours).
Strain off the gravy and set it on the fire.
Add the specified quantity of vermicelli (1 oz.) to the gravy and boil until sufficiently cooked (about 20 minutes).
Prepare the almonds and eggs
Blanch and pound the sweet almonds very finely.
Boil the egg yolks hard.
Combine and serve
While pounding the almonds, mix them with a little of the soup to prevent the soup from becoming oily.
Pound the mixture to a pulp, adding a little soup gradually until thoroughly mixed.
Let the soup cool while mixing, ensuring it is perfectly smooth.
Strain the soup through a sieve.
Set the strained soup on the fire, stir frequently, and serve hot.
Just before serving, add the thick cream.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 5 ingredients. The other 2 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Clove | 1 tsp ground (2g) | 7 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Mace | 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.
-
Mace + clovetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,400 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
-
Cream + macetop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,009 recipes
-
Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Cream + clovetop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,810 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
-
Mace + eggtop 35% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,587 recipes
Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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 (in the method)
- Provide the main flavour and body, becoming a smooth thickened base when finely pounded.
- Thick cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel when stirred in just before serving.
- Eggs
- Egg yolks, boiled hard and pounded, add body and richness to the soup.
The step that matters
Mixing the almonds with soup while pounding. Almond pastes can separate and turn oily if pounded dry. Mixing them with a little broth first keeps the emulsion smooth, and adding the rest gradually ensures an even, silky texture.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, mace, egg):
- Nutmegfits better
- White pepperfits better
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, mace, 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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