Name: Almond Balls
Ingredients: ½ pound blanched almonds, finely ground; ⅓ cup rose or orange flower water; 8 egg yolks; 4 egg whites; 1 pound loaf sugar; 3 ounces wheat flour; Butter for greasing; Sugar for sprinkling

Why it works: Almond and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,673 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Almond Balls

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, combine the ground almonds and rose or orange flower water until the mixture is moist but not oily.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks and egg whites until very light and fluffy.
Gently fold the egg mixture into the almond mixture.
Gradually add the loaf sugar while continuing to beat the mixture.
Stir in the wheat flour gently until just combined.
Butter the pans and fill them half full with the mixture.
Sprinkle a little sugar over the top before placing them in the oven.

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.

Almond + flourtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,673 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Almond + wheattop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together264 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Almond + buttertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,245 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Almond + rosetop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,465 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,373 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).