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Candied Orange Peels

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Syrup and sugar match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,842 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Candied Orange Peels

Ingredients

Directions

  1. If using imported peels, wash them in clear water for 2 hours. This is not necessary for fresh peels.

  2. Blanch the peels by boiling them in water on low heat until softened.

  3. Place the peels in stone jars and cover with hot syrup at 72°F (22°C) containing 1 ounce of sodium bicarbonate per 4 gallons of syrup.

  4. After a few hours, drain the peels and reboil the syrup at the same temperature, then pour it over the peels.

  5. Repeat the draining and reboiling process daily, increasing the syrup temperature by 1°F until it reaches 75°F (24°C).

  6. Continue to drain and reboil every 3 days, increasing the temperature gradually but not exceeding 78°F (26°C) for the last boil.

  7. Every 8 days, drain and reboil the syrup, increasing the temperature by 2°F until it reaches 86°F (30°C).

  8. Do not exceed this final temperature. Pack as many peels as possible in the jars and keep them submerged with a stoneware disk with holes.

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.

  1. Syrup + sugartop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,842 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Orange + sugartop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together19,212 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Orange + syruptop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,179 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Orange and sugar 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

Swap the orange

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

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Raisinfits better
  3. Pearfits better
  4. Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against syrup, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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