Why it works: Almond and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,245 recipes. Both carry 2,3-pentanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Deviled Almonds
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Blanch and shred the almonds.
Fry the almonds in butter until light brown.
Season and serve
In a bowl, mix Chutney sauce, chopped pickles, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and cayenne.
Pour the mixture over the fried almonds and serve hot.
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 + buttertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Almond + saucetop 27% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together307 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 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
- Form the crunchy base that carries the seasoning.
- Butter
- Fat that fries the almonds and helps them brown.
- Chutney sauce
- Adds sweetness and tang to the coating.
- Pickles
- Add acidity and a sharp, briny bite.
- Worcestershire sauce
- Adds savory depth and a salty, umami flavour.
The step that matters
Fry the almonds until light brown. Frying in butter only until light brown keeps the almonds crisp and avoids a bitter, burnt taste. Nuts keep darkening from residual heat after leaving the pan, so removing them at the right colour matters.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sauce):
- Almondthe original
- Sesamefits about as well
- Cashew nutfits about as well
- Peanutfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sauce. 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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