Why it works: Almond and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 25% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,645 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
To Pound Almonds
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the almonds
Blanch the almonds and let them dry in a warm room for 2-3 days on a large dish.
Roughly chop the almonds or place them directly into a mortar.
Make the paste
Sprinkle a few drops of cold water, egg white, or lemon juice over the almonds.
Pound the almonds until they form a smooth paste.
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 + eggtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,645 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 bulk and natural oils that form the paste when pounded.
- Cold water, egg white, or lemon juice
- Adds a little moisture so the ground almonds bind together and pound smoothly.
The step that matters
Adding the liquid in drops. A few drops of moisture help the almonds bind and pound smooth. Too much makes the paste wet and sticky, and it can no longer be worked into a firm, smooth paste.
“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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