Name: Almond Soup
Ingredients: ½ lb almonds; 2 cups milk; 2 tablespoons sugar; ½ teaspoon salt; 2 cups hot milk

Why it works: Almond and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,800 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Almond Soup

Ingredients

Directions

Make the almond mixture

Blanch the almonds.
Pound the blanched almonds in a mortar, gradually adding 2 cups of milk.
Once smooth, strain the mixture through cheesecloth.

Finish the soup

In a separate pot, heat 2 cups of milk and add sugar and salt.
Combine the almond mixture with the scalded milk and bring to a boil.
Serve hot.

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.

Almond + milktop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,800 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,679 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together77,875 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Almonds: Pounded into a paste, they give the soup its nutty flavour and body.
Milk: Provides the liquid and creaminess that carries the almond flavour.
Sugar: Adds sweetness that balances the nutty flavour of the almonds.