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Orgeat

A sweet almond-based syrup made with milk, cinnamon, almonds, bitter almonds, brandy, and sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,514 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Orgeat

Ingredients

Directions

Infuse and sweeten the milk

  1. Boil the milk with the cinnamon stick.

  2. Sweeten the milk to your taste and let it cool.

Make the syrup

  1. Gradually pour the cooled milk into a paste made from blanched almonds and bitter almonds mixed with a little water.

  2. Boil the mixture together and stir until cool.

  3. Add the brandy and mix well.

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. Cinnamon + almondtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,514 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,655 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  3. Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together30,779 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Cinnamon + brandytop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,199 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  5. Milk + brandytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,738 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

Cinnamon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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

Milk
Forms the liquid base and adds richness and body to the syrup.
Almonds
Their ground paste gives body, nutty flavour and a creamy texture.
Bitter almonds
Contribute a concentrated almond aroma and a sharp, bitter edge.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps give the syrup its thick, smooth body.
Cinnamon
Flavours the milk with a warm, aromatic spice note.
Brandy
Adds alcohol aroma and a warm, sharp note at the end.

The step that matters

Gradually pour the cooled milk into the almond paste. Almond paste is a suspension of fine solid particles. Adding liquid slowly lets the particles disperse evenly, while pouring it all at once can leave clumps and an uneven texture.

“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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