Why it works: Almond and rice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,456 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Blanc Mange
Ingredients
Directions
Make the jelly
Dissolve isinglass in water and boil until reduced to 1 pint.
Add egg whites and rice water, then sweeten with sugar.
Strain through a jelly bag.
Add almonds and set
Add sweet and bitter almonds, scald them in the jelly, and strain again.
Pour into a mold and refrigerate overnight.
Serve
Serve with blanched almonds cut lengthwise on top.
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 + ricetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,456 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Almond + rosetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,465 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Almond + creamtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,130 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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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
- Isinglass
- Gelatin-like protein that sets the liquid into a firm, wobbly jelly when chilled.
- Sweet almonds
- Supply the main almond flavour and body in the pudding.
- Bitter almonds
- Add a stronger, more intense almond aroma to the pudding.
- Egg whites
- Add protein that helps the pudding set and gives it a lighter texture.
The step that matters
Dissolve isinglass and reduce to 1 pint. Isinglass must dissolve fully and the liquid must be reduced to the correct volume, because its setting power depends on concentration. Too much water leaves the pudding too soft to hold its shape in the mold.
“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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