Why it works: Almond and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,245 recipes. Both carry 2,3-pentanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Salted Almonds
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Pour boiling water over the almonds to loosen the skins.
Slip off the skins and place the almonds in a pan to dry for several hours.
Bake and season
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Brown the almonds in the hot oven until golden brown.
Remove from the oven, add butter, and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
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 + buttertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Almonds
- Provide the main crunchy texture and nutty flavor once browned.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, helping the salt cling and giving a smooth flavor.
The step that matters
Brown the almonds in the hot oven until golden brown. Almonds go from golden to bitter and burnt within a short time. Browning develops nutty flavor through the Maillard reaction, so watch closely and pull them as soon as they reach golden brown.
“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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