Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Almond Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the almonds
Scald the almonds to easily peel off the skins.
Blanch the almonds and place them in cold water.
Drain and dry the almonds.
Beat the almonds in a marble mortar, adding a little milk and grated lemon peel as you go.
Make the soup
Boil the milk with the cinnamon and sugar.
Gradually stir the beaten almonds into the milk.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Serve
Soak some toasted bread slices in a little of the soup.
Place the soaked bread in the bottom of a tureen.
Pour the soup over the bread.
Grate nutmeg on top before serving.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Almond + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,514 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Almond + nutmegtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,115 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Cinnamon + lemontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sweet almonds
- Provide the main body and nutty flavour of the soup when beaten into a smooth base.
- Bitter almonds or peach kernels
- Add a deeper, aromatic almond bitterness that complements the sweet almonds.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the soup and carries the almond flavour.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the almonds and milk.
- Toasted bread
- Soaks up the soup, giving the dish a softer, more substantial texture when served.
The step that matters
Gradually stir the beaten almonds into the milk. Adding the almond paste slowly and stirring constantly helps it disperse evenly without clumping, giving the soup a smooth texture rather than grainy lumps.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (almond, milk, cinnamon, sugar, bread, nutmeg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against almond, milk, cinnamon, sugar, bread, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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