Why it works: Almond and walnut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 993 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
To Blanch Nuts
Ingredients
Directions
For peanuts, rub them on a coarse wire sieve or in a coarse cloth bag to remove the skins.
For almonds, pour boiling water over them and let them sit until the skins loosen, then press to remove the kernel.
For filberts, heat them in the oven until hot but not browned, then cool and rub off the skins.
For shelled walnuts, heat in the oven until hot, then cool and rub off the skins.
For butternuts, remove from the shell and heat in the oven until warmed through, then cool and remove the skins.
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 + walnuttop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together993 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Almond + butternuttop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Peanut + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together305 recipes
Shared aroma: acetylpyrazine (roast).
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Walnut + butternuttop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together15 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Peanut + walnuttop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together241 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the filbert
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peanut, almond, walnut, butternut):
- Brazil nutfits better
- Cashew nutfits better
- Pistachiofits better
- Filbertthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against peanut, almond, walnut, butternut. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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