Why it works: Almond and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,673 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
String-beans
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the beans
Break string beans into 1‑inch lengths and wash thoroughly.
Cook the beans in boiling water until tender, about 2 hours.
Add coarse sea salt to the water 10 minutes before they are done.
Drain the beans thoroughly.
Make the gravy
In a saucepan, combine almond or peanut milk with white flour (if using) and heat until thickened.
Finish and serve
Pour the gravy over the beans.
Let the mixture boil once.
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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Almond + flourtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Beans + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together238 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Beans + flourtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,080 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- String beans
- The main vegetable; long cooking softens them until tender throughout.
- Almond or raw peanut milk
- Forms the liquid base of the gravy and adds richness and a nutty flavor.
- White flour
- Its starch swells with heat and thickens the milk into a smooth gravy.
The step that matters
Thickening the gravy. Flour starch only thickens fully once the liquid reaches a simmer and the starch gelatinizes. If it is not heated long enough, the gravy stays thin and can taste raw and floury.
Swap the beans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (almond, flour):
- Cashew nutfits better
- Pistachiofits better
- Brazil nutfits better
- Beansthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against almond, flour. 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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