Why it works: Almond and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,679 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Almond Emulsion
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the almonds with the sugar until they form a smooth paste.
Gradually add the distilled water and mix well.
Strain the mixture through muslin.
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 + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sweet almonds, blanched
- Provide the oil and protein that give the emulsion its body and milky appearance.
- Double refined sugar
- Helps grind the almonds into a smooth paste and adds mild sweetness.
- Distilled water
- Forms the liquid base that suspends the almond fats and solids.
The step that matters
Beat the almonds with the sugar until smooth. If the paste is not ground fine enough, the almond particles stay coarse and the liquid will feel gritty after straining. Adding water only after a smooth paste forms helps the fats and solids disperse evenly.
“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.
You might also like
Almond Milk18 recipes
Vegetable Soup350 recipes
Raspberry Vinegar214 recipes
Brown Coffee with Egg175 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.