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 ↓
Macaroons
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the paste
Pound the burnt almonds, candied orange-flowers, and egg whites until coarsely pulverized.
Mix in the sugar to keep the paste stiff.
Shape and bake
Lay out the macaroons in small oval shapes on a baking sheet.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until lightly golden.
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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Almond + orangetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,125 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Almond + eggtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Sugar and orange barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,212 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
- Burnt almonds
- Provide the main body and nutty, toasted flavor of the macaroons.
- Sugar
- Keeps the paste stiff and adds sweetness, while helping the surface brown in the oven.
- Egg whites
- Bind the almond and sugar mixture into a paste that holds its shape.
- Candied orange-flowers
- Add a sweet, floral aroma and flavor.
The step that matters
Mix in the sugar to keep the paste stiff. Sugar added to the egg white and almond mixture stiffens the paste so the shaped macaroons hold their oval form instead of spreading. Adding it too early or in the wrong proportion can loosen the paste and cause spreading in the oven.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (almond, sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against almond, sugar, egg. 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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