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Almond Soup

A soup made from calves' feet stock, blanched almonds, rose water, cream, and mace.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Almond Soup

Why it works: Almond and rose are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,465 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Almond Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Make the stock

  1. Place the scraped calves' feet in a porcelain-lined kettle and cover with cold water.

  2. Add the mace and bring to a boil over moderate heat.

  3. Once boiling, add salt and reduce heat to simmer, skimming off any scum.

  4. Simmer until the meat falls from the bones, then strain into an earthen pan.

  5. Once cooled, remove the fat from the top and return the stock to the kettle.

Finish the soup

  1. Pound the blanched almonds with rose water until smooth, then add to the stock.

  2. Boil the mixture for 15 minutes.

  3. In the last few minutes, boil the cream and stir it into the soup before serving.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Almond + rosetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,465 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Mace + rosetop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together498 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  3. Almond + creamtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,130 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

  4. Mace + creamtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,009 recipes
  5. Mace + almondtop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,010 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Calves' feet
Release gelatin and body into the stock, giving the soup a rich, full texture.
Blanched almonds
Pounded into the stock to thicken it and give a smooth, nutty body.
Cream
Adds richness and a silky mouthfeel to the finished soup.

The step that matters

Skimming while the stock simmers. Scum and fat rising during simmering can cloud the stock and taint its flavour. Skimming early keeps the soup clear and clean-tasting.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (almond, rose, cream):

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Cinnamonfits better
  3. Peppermintfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against almond, rose, cream. 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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