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 ↓
Almond Wafers
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the mixture
Blanch and pound the almonds.
Mix the pounded almonds with powdered sugar and orange flower water in a bowl.
Moisten with enough egg whites to spread the mixture on wafer paper using a knife.
Spread and top
Rub the wafer paper with virgin wax and sweet oil.
Spread the mixture thinly on the wafer paper.
Chop additional sweet almonds finely, mix with sugar, and sprinkle over the wafers.
Bake and shape
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C).
When half baked, remove from the oven and cut into squares.
Return to the oven for 1 minute, then press onto a stick to shape.
Once cooled, place on a sieve.
Warm slightly before serving.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Almond + sugartop 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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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Almond + eggtop 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
- Sweet almonds
- Provide the main body and nutty flavour of the wafers.
- Powdered sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the almond paste hold together and spread.
- Whites of eggs
- Moisten the almond mixture so it binds and can be spread thinly.
The step that matters
Cut the wafers when half baked. Cutting while the wafers are still partly soft lets you shape clean squares before they harden. Once fully baked and cooled they become brittle and may crack, so timing the cut matters.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (almond, sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against almond, sugar, egg. 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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