Why it works: Raisin and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,781 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓
Tapioca and Nuts
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the tapioca in 1 pint of water.
Add 1 quart of boiling water and cook in a double boiler until clear.
Cook and serve
Stir in the raisins and chopped almonds.
Cook for one hour or longer.
Mold the mixture and serve cold with nut meal or nut gravy.
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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Raisin + almondtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,781 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tapioca
- Thickens the water as it cooks and turns the mixture clear and set when cooled.
- Raisins
- Add sweetness and chewy texture through the molded dish.
- Almonds
- Add crunch and nutty flavor that contrasts with the soft tapioca.
The step that matters
Cook until clear. Tapioca starch must be fully cooked and gelatinized to turn clear and thicken properly; undercooked starch stays cloudy and grainy and will not set firmly when molded.
“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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