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 ↓
Blancmange
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mixture
Boil the milk with isinglass, lemon rind, cinnamon, sugar, and almonds for a few minutes.
Pour the mixture through a muslin sieve into a bowl.
Stir continuously until it begins to thicken.
Set and serve
Pour into a mould dipped in cold water.
Leave in a cool place to set.
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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Cinnamon + almondtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,514 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Lemon + almondtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,655 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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
- Isinglass
- Fish-derived gelatine that sets the milk into a firm, wobbly body as it cools.
- New milk
- Forms the base of the dessert and provides its creamy, soft texture.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the dessert and balances the bitterness of the almonds.
- Bitter almonds
- Add a nutty, aromatic flavour to the milk as it simmers.
The step that matters
Stir continuously until it begins to thicken. Isinglass and milk can scorch or form lumps if left unattended on heat, and constant stirring keeps the mixture smooth as it thickens. Once it thickens, it is ready to be poured and will set as it cools.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, cinnamon, sugar, almond):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, cinnamon, 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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