Why it works: Sugar and orange are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 20% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,212 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Candied Orange Peel
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the peel
Cut the orange peel into long strips.
Place the peel in a saucepan and pour the water over it.
Cook until the peel is tender.
Make the syrup
Drain the water and add the sugar.
Gradually heat the mixture until the sugar melts.
Cook over low heat until the peel becomes clear.
Finish and store
Remove from heat and let cool.
Dip the cooled peel in dry granulated sugar and pack in jars.
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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Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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
- Orange peel
- The main ingredient, which softens in water and then takes up the sugar syrup as it turns clear.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the peel and, as a thick syrup, replaces the water inside it for a glossy, preserved texture.
The step that matters
Gradually heat the mixture until the sugar melts. Heating slowly lets the sugar dissolve fully before the syrup gets hot. Rushing the heat can scorch the sugar or leave it grainy, and the peel may then cook unevenly.
“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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