Why it works: Almond and olive match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,875 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Salted Almonds
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the almonds
Remove the shells from the almonds.
Pour boiling water over the almonds and let them stand for 15 to 20 minutes.
Skin the almonds and lay them on a tin pie plate without drying.
Salt and bake
Sprinkle the almonds thickly with salt and turn them to coat all sides.
Place the almonds in a 350°F (175°C) oven, shaking occasionally and turning the pan as needed.
When golden brown, remove the almonds from the oven and discard any excess salt.
Variation
For a variation, coat the almonds with 1 teaspoon of olive oil before salting.
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 + olivetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,875 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
- Almonds
- Provide the main body of the snack, browning and taking on a crisp texture when baked.
- Olive oil
- Helps the salt adhere to the almonds and adds a richer flavour in the optional variation.
The step that matters
Removing the skins without drying the almonds. Almonds that are dried out before baking can brown unevenly and lose moisture, so they should be skinned and laid out while still slightly moist.
“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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