Why it works: Almond and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,245 recipes. Both carry 2,3-pentanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Caramel Almonds
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Blanch the almonds and add them to melted butter.
Place the mixture on the back of the stove for 1 hour.
Drain the nuts and spread them in a shallow pan.
Roast
Cook in a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 15 minutes.
Caramelize and cool
In a frying pan, heat sugar until it turns liquid.
Quickly add the browned almonds and stir for 30 seconds.
Spread the almonds on a plate to cool.
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 + buttertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Blanched almonds
- Form the crunchy base that the sugar coating clings to and sets around.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat and richness and helps the almonds take on flavor before roasting.
- Sugar
- Melts and browns into caramel, providing sweetness and a hard, glossy coating as it cools.
The step that matters
Adding the almonds to the liquid sugar. Sugar moves quickly from liquid to amber to burnt, so the almonds should go in promptly and the stirring should be brief. Sugar that darkens too far turns bitter, and the coating sets hard as it cools.
“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.
You might also like
Fritters56 recipes
Crisp Crackers7 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.