Why it works: Almond and sugar 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 Paste
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the almonds
Blanch the almonds and soak them in cold water for 1-2 hours.
Drain and wipe the almonds, then pound them into a fine paste, adding cold water as needed to prevent oiling.
Make the paste
Mix in the sugar thoroughly.
Transfer the mixture to a small preserving pan and stir over low heat until it no longer sticks to your fingers.
Pour the paste into an earthenware pan or jar and let it cool before using.
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.
-
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
- Almonds
- Provide the main body and rich flavour of the paste once pounded fine.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps bind the paste as it is heated.
- Cold water
- Keeps the paste from releasing its oil while the almonds are pounded.
The step that matters
Pounding with cold water. Almonds release oil when friction heats them, which can make the paste greasy and split. Adding cold water as needed keeps the temperature down and the paste smooth.
“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.
More almond paste recipes
You might also like
Almond Sponge Cake26 recipes
Almond Custard22 recipes
Almond Wafers22 recipes
Coconut Almond Cake17 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.