Why it works: Almond and peach match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and 466 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Almon'd Blanc Mange
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
In a porcelain saucepan, combine the milk, ground almonds, peach kernels, and sugar.
Place the saucepan in another pan with boiling water and bring to a boil.
Mix the corn starch with a little cold milk and stir it into the boiling mixture.
Cook for 3 minutes, then remove from heat to cool slightly.
Set and serve
Beat the egg whites with 2 teaspoons of sugar until stiff, then fold them into the mixture.
Quickly pour the mixture into a porcelain mold that has been dipped in cold water.
Once cooled, turn it out onto a serving plate.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Almond + peachtop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Almond + corntop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together485 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Milk + peachtop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together781 recipes
Shared aroma: phellandrene (minty).
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Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Peach + corntop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together94 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg whites
- Whipped into foam, they lighten the set dessert and give it a delicate, airy texture.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the hot milk mixture as its starch swells, so the dessert holds its shape when cooled.
- Sweet almonds
- Provide the main nutty flavor and body, and their fats add richness to the milk base.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the starch thickens and the almonds flavor.
- White granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps balance the flavor of the almonds and milk.
The step that matters
Fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture. If the custard is still very hot, it can deflate the whites; if it has already set, they will not blend in evenly. Fold gently and quickly so the foam stays airy.
“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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