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Dessert

Almond Forcemeat

A forcemeat made from eggs, cream, nutmeg, almonds, breadcrumbs, and butter, used to fill poultry.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Nutmeg and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,115 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Almond Forcemeat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the forcemeat

  1. Beat the yolks of the eggs with the cream and nutmeg.

  2. Blanch and pound the almonds in a mortar, using egg white to moisten.

  3. Add the almond mixture, bread crumbs, and butter to the egg mixture.

  4. Finally, fold in the whisked egg whites until combined.

Use

  1. Use the forcemeat to fill a capon or turkey.

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.

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. Nutmeg + almondtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,115 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Almond + buttertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,245 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

  5. Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,920 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Yolks bind the mixture and enrich it, while whipped whites lighten its texture.
Heavy cream
Adds moisture and richness, keeping the forcemeat tender rather than dry.
Sweet almonds
Provide body and a nutty flavor as the main solid component of the forcemeat.
Light bread crumbs
Absorb liquid and give the forcemeat structure and a soft, light body.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and a smooth, tender texture.

The step that matters

Folding in the whisked egg whites. Egg whites hold air only when whipped and are easily deflated by vigorous stirring. Folding gently keeps the mixture light and prevents it from becoming dense once cooked in the bird.

“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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