Name: Rhubarb and Fig Marmalade
Ingredients: 3 pounds rhubarb, unpeeled and cut into small pieces; ½ pound figs, cut into small pieces; ½ pound candied orange peel, chopped; 2½ pounds sugar; Grated rind and juice of 1 large lemon

Why it works: Orange and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Rhubarb and Fig Marmalade

Ingredients

3 pounds rhubarb, unpeeled and cut into small pieces
½ pound figs, cut into small pieces
½ pound candied orange peel, chopped
2½ pounds sugar
Grated rind and juice of 1 large lemon

Directions

Prepare

Layer the rhubarb, figs, candied orange peel, and sugar in a kettle.
Cover and let stand overnight.

Cook and jar

In the morning, boil the mixture slowly for about 1 hour until thick.
Pour into glasses and cover like jelly.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,634 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Rhubarb + orangetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together299 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
Fig + orangetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together407 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Rhubarb + figtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together48 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
Rhubarb + lemontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together546 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Rhubarb: Provides the tart flavour and body that the sugar balances.
Sugar: Draws moisture out of the fruit and, with boiling, thickens the mixture into a spreadable set.
Figs: Add body and a soft, sweet texture that helps thicken the marmalade.
Candied orange peel: Adds concentrated citrus aroma and chewy pieces throughout the marmalade.

The step that matters

Boiling slowly until thick. Pectin in the fruit and sugar concentration set the marmalade as water evaporates. Boiling too briefly leaves it runny, while overcooking can make it stiff and sugary, so check that it is thick before jarring.

Swap the fig

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rhubarb, orange, sugar, lemon):

Limefits better
Vanillafits better
Blueberryfits about as well
Figthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rhubarb, orange, sugar, lemon. 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.

Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes

Lemon Cake228 recipes

Rhubarb Pie152 recipes

Lemon Ice147 recipes

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Rhubarb and Fig Marmalade