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Syrup of Almond Iced, a LA Varsovienne, a Substitute for Blancmange

A chilled almond syrup made with sweet and bitter almonds, sugar, brandy or rum, cream, and gelatin, served in a mold.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Syrup of Almond Iced, a LA Varsovienne, a Substitute for Blancmange

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the almonds and syrup

  1. Blanch and pound the sweet and bitter almonds in a mortar.

  2. Boil the sugar with water to make a thick syrup.

  3. Add the almonds to the syrup and let it infuse for 20 minutes.

  4. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve.

Set the mixture

  1. Add enough dissolved isinglass or calf's foot jelly to set the mixture.

  2. Stir in the brandy or rum.

  3. Place the mixture in a bowl over ice, stirring until it begins to set.

  4. Fold in the whipped cream gently.

Mold and serve

  1. Pour the mixture into a mold and keep it on ice until ready to serve.

  2. To serve, dip the mold in lukewarm water and turn it out onto a dish.

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.

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. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Brandy + creamtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,635 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

  3. Almond + creamtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,130 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

  4. Almond + brandytop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,969 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

  5. Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,679 recipes

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

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sweet almonds
Provide the main nutty almond flavour and body to the syrup.
Bitter almonds
Add a concentrated, aromatic almond flavour that balances the sweetness.
Sugar
Sweetens the syrup and gives it a thick, pourable base.
Isinglass or calf's foot jelly
Gelatinous setting agent that firms the mixture so it holds its molded shape.
Cream
Adds richness and a light, airy texture when folded in whipped.

The step that matters

Folding in the whipped cream while the mixture is only partly set. The mixture must be thick enough to hold the cream's air but not so set that it lumps. Stirring over ice in short stages and folding gently keeps the whipped cream from deflating and keeps the texture smooth.

“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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