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 once the skins slip off easily.
Lay the almonds on a baking sheet without drying them.
Salt and bake
Sprinkle thickly with salt and turn them to coat all sides.
Place in a 350°F (175°C) oven, shaking occasionally and turning the pan as needed.
Remove from the oven when golden brown.
Pick out the almonds and discard the 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 nut base that becomes crisp and golden when baked.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the almonds and forms a savory crust on their surface.
- Olive oil
- Helps the salt cling to the almonds and adds a richer mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Remove from the oven when golden brown. Almonds keep browning from residual heat after leaving the oven, so pulling them at the right color prevents bitterness and a scorched flavor.
“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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