Why it works: Almond and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,679 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Blanc Mange
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the almonds
Parboil the Jordan and bitter almonds in 1 quart and 1 pint of water for about 3 minutes.
Drain the almonds, remove the skins, and wash the almonds in cold water.
Soak the almonds in cold water for 30 minutes.
Make the almond milk
Pound the soaked almonds in a mortar with 6 ounces of sugar until a soft paste forms.
Place the paste in a basin with 18 ounces of loaf sugar.
Mix the paste and loaf sugar with 1 ½ pints of water, then cover the basin with paper.
Let the mixture stand in a cool place for 1 hour to extract the almond flavor.
Strain the mixture through a napkin, applying pressure by wringing the napkin at both ends.
Set and serve
Add 3 ounces of clarified gelatine to the almond milk.
Pour the blanc mange into a mold set in rough ice and let it set firm.
Dip the mold in warm water.
Turn the blanc mange out onto a dish carefully.
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 + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Jordan almonds
- Provide the main almond body and flavor of the almond milk once ground into a paste.
- Bitter almonds
- Add a sharp, concentrated almond aroma that contrasts with the sweetness.
- Clarified gelatine
- Sets the almond milk into a firm, sliceable form as it cools.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the almond milk and adds body to the liquid.
The step that matters
Straining the almond milk. Pressure from wringing the napkin pushes fine almond particles through, so the milk must be strained well to give a smooth, clear-textured set; rushing this leaves grit.
“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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