Why it works: Almond and vanilla match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,961 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Almond Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Make the candy base
Boil the water and sugar together until fully dissolved.
Add the ground almonds and mix well.
Pour the mixture onto a marble surface.
Pull and cut
Add the combination of oils and pull the candy for 3 minutes.
Cut the pulled candy into sticks for use.
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 + vanillatop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,961 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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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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Vanilla + rosetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together456 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Pulverized sugar
- Forms the bulk of the candy and provides its sweetness.
- Ground almonds
- Add nutty flavor and body to the candy's texture.
- Cream of tartar
- Adds acidity that helps keep the sugar from crystallizing too coarsely.
The step that matters
Pulling the candy. Working the candy while it is still pliable incorporates air and encourages fine sugar crystals, giving a lighter, opaque texture. If it cools too much before pulling, it becomes hard to work and the texture stays dense.
“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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