Name: Orgeat
Ingredients: 2 ounces almonds; 1 teaspoon orange-flower water; 1 bitter almond (optional); 1 quart milk; 1 quart water; sugar to taste; ½ ounce gum arabic (optional); ½ glass brandy (optional)

Why it works: Almond and orange are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,125 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Orgeat

Ingredients

Directions

Make the orgeat

Beat the almonds with orange‑flower water and the bitter almond if using.
Pour in the milk and water, mixing well.
Sweeten with sugar or capillaire to taste.
For added warmth, mix in gum arabic and brandy if desired.

Serve

Serve chilled or warm in a basin of warm water.

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.

Almond + orangetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,125 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Orange + brandytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,706 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Orange + milktop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,696 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Milk + brandytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,738 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Almond + milktop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,800 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

What each ingredient does

Almonds: Provide the main nutty flavour and body of the syrup once beaten into the liquid.
Milk: Adds creaminess and a soft, rich body to the drink.
Sugar: Sweetens the syrup and balances the bitterness of the almonds.
Gum arabic: Thickens the liquid and helps keep the emulsion smooth and stable.

“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.