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 Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make and bake the pudding
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and whites with the orange flower water.
Gradually add the ground almonds and sifted sugar, beating until the mixture bubbles.
Grease the baking dishes with almond oil and pour in the mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven until set, being careful not to let it brown too much.
Ice and serve
To ice, boil ¼ lb sugar with ¼ pint water and pour over the pudding after baking.
Garnish with blanched almonds 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.
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 + buttertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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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
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help the pudding set as it bakes.
- Egg whites
- Trap air when beaten, giving the pudding a light, airy structure.
- Sweet almonds (ground)
- Provide the main body and nutty flavour of the pudding.
- Sifted sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and adds tenderness to the crumb.
The step that matters
Bake until just set. Eggs firm as they heat, and overbaking makes them curdle and dry out while the surface browns too quickly. Pulling the pudding out once it is set keeps it moist and smooth.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, almond, butter, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, almond, butter, sugar. 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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