Why it works: Almond and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,673 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Almond Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the almond flour as directed in the almond flour recipe.
Dissolve the saccharine tablets in the water.
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with a wooden spoon until slightly thick.
Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the yolks.
Add the dissolved saccharine and almond flour, and stir lightly until combined.
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 + flourtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + almondtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, flour):
- Almondthe original
- Milletfits about as well
- Macadamia nutfits less well
- Chestnutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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