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Dessert

Almond Meringue Drops

A light dessert of almond‑flavored meringue drops baked until a delicate brown.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Almond and rose are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,465 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Almond Meringue Drops

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the almonds

  1. Blanch the almonds by soaking them in hot water for a few moments to remove the inner hull.

  2. Chop the almonds finely, then pound them in a mortar.

Make and shape the batter

  1. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

  2. Combine the almond mixture, sugar, and rose water with the beaten egg whites.

  3. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto buttered parchment paper.

Bake

  1. Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until they are a delicate brown.

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. Almond + rosetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,465 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,679 recipes

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

  3. Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Sugar + rosetop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,584 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Egg + almondtop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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

Egg whites
Whipped into stiff peaks, they give the drops their light, airy structure.
White sugar
Sweetens the drops and helps stabilize the whipped whites while they set and browne.
Blanched almonds
Provide the main body, nutty flavour, and chewy texture of the drops.

The step that matters

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Under-whipped whites lack the foam structure to hold the almonds and sugar, so the drops spread and turn dense. Over-beaten whites turn dry and grainy and break down when folded in.

“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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