Why it works: Almond and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 25% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,645 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
To Pound Almonds
Ingredients
Directions
Blanch the almonds and let them dry in a warm room for 2–3 days on a large dish or tin.
Sprinkle the almonds with a few drops of cold water, the egg white, or lemon juice.
Roughly chop the almonds if desired, then pound them in a mortar until smooth.
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.
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Almond + eggtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Almonds
- Provide the fat and protein that become the smooth paste when pounded.
- Egg white
- Adds moisture and binding so the pounded almonds stay smooth and do not separate.
The step that matters
Pounding the almonds until smooth. Almonds release oil as they are crushed, and pounding slowly in small amounts of liquid keeps the paste from becoming oily or grainy. Adding the moisture first helps the almonds break down evenly.
“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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