Why it works: Sugar and almond 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 Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the cream
In a hot mixture, stir in pounded almonds, egg yolks, and clarified sugar until well combined.
Pass the mixture through a tammy using a wooden spoon, then repeat the process.
Add the clarified isinglass to the mixture and squeeze through again.
Mould and set
Prepare a mould in ice and pour the cream into it.
Once set, turn out the cream as you would with any jelly.
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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Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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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).
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 bind the cream as they set with heat.
- Clarified sugar
- Adds sweetness and body to the cream.
- Isinglass
- Gelatinous setting agent that lets the cream hold its shape when chilled.
- Pounded almonds
- Provide the main almond flavour and a fine, creamy texture.
The step that matters
Adding the isinglass. Isinglass must be well clarified and fully dissolved into the warm mixture before straining. Any remaining impurities or lumps can cloud the cream and prevent an even, firm set.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar):
- Pecansfits about as well
- Almondthe original
- Chestnutfits about as well
- Milletfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, 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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