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Dessert

Blanc Mange

A custard made from almond paste, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and isinglass, set in a mold and chilled.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,514 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Blanc Mange

Ingredients

Directions

Make the almond milk

  1. Blanch the almonds.

  2. Pound the blanched almonds to a paste.

  3. Gradually add the cold water while pounding.

  4. Let the mixture stand for 2 hours.

  5. Strain off the liquid.

Make the pudding

  1. Combine the milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla in an enamelled saucepan.

  2. Boil the mixture slowly until the sugar dissolves.

  3. Stir in the isinglass until dissolved.

  4. Strain the mixture into a basin.

  5. Stir in the almond milk and cream.

  6. Let the mixture cool.

  7. Pour the mixture into a mold.

  8. Refrigerate until firmly set, or place on ice for 1 hour.

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. Cinnamon + almondtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,514 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Vanilla + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  3. Vanilla + almondtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,961 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Vanilla + milktop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  5. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

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

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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

Isinglass
Sets the liquid into a firm, sliceable pudding as it cools.
Sweet almonds
Provide the almond flavour and body of the almond milk.
Whole milk
Forms the creamy liquid base of the pudding.
Rich cream
Adds fat for a richer, smoother texture.
Loaf sugar
Sweetens the pudding and dissolves into the hot milk.

The step that matters

Stir in the isinglass until dissolved. Isinglass must fully dissolve in the hot liquid before cooling; undissolved granules leave specks and weak setting, so the mixture should be kept hot enough and stirred until clear.

“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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