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 ↓
Maids of Honour
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until well combined.
Pound the blanched sweet almonds and a few bitter ones, but not too finely.
Mix the almond mixture with the egg and sugar mixture.
Add the orange-flower water and stir until combined.
Bake
Line patty pans with pastry and fill with the mixture.
Bake until set and lightly golden.
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 + orangetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,125 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + almondtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Sugar and orange barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,212 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
- Egg yolks
- Bind the filling and set into a custard-like texture when baked.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps the yolks blend smoothly.
- Sweet almonds
- Provide the main body and nutty flavour of the filling.
- Bitter almonds
- Add a deeper, more aromatic almond flavour in small amounts.
- Orange-flower water
- Adds a delicate floral aroma to the filling.
The step that matters
Bake until set and lightly golden. Egg yolks set as they heat, so underbaking leaves the filling runny while overbaking makes it dry and tough. Watching for a firm centre and light colour keeps the texture smooth.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, almond):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, almond. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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