Why it works: Orange and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,125 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Posset, Wine
Ingredients
Directions
In a saucepan, combine the grated stale roll, water, and sugar.
Simmer the mixture until it thickens and becomes clear.
Add the light wine, sweet almonds, bitter almonds, orange juice, and sugar. Mix thoroughly and serve.
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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Orange + almondtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,125 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Orange + winetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,046 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Wine + almondtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,260 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar and orange barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,212 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Stale roll
- Thickens the liquid as it simmers, giving the posset its body.
- Sweet almonds
- Add richness and body, with a nutty flavour from the pounded nuts.
- Light wine
- Adds acidity and aroma, lightly flavouring the posset.
- Seville orange juice
- Adds bright acidity that balances the sweetness and the almonds.
The step that matters
Simmer until thickened and clear. The stale roll must be cooked long enough to swell and thicken the liquid. Stopping early leaves it grainy and cloudy, while overcooking can make it stick and scorch on the base of the pan.
“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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