Name: Orange, Lemon, or Peppermint Creams
Ingredients: cream candy (as previously described); 2 to 4 drops oil of peppermint; 2 to 4 drops oil of lemon; 2 to 4 drops oil of orange; ½ teaspoon lemon juice (for lemon and orange flavors)

Why it works: Lemon and orange 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 ↓

Orange, Lemon, or Peppermint Creams

Ingredients

cream candy (as previously described)
2 to 4 drops oil of peppermint
2 to 4 drops oil of lemon
2 to 4 drops oil of orange
½ teaspoon lemon juice (for lemon and orange flavors)

Directions

Make cream candy as previously described and let it cool.
Divide the candy into three parts.
Add 2 to 4 drops of oil of peppermint to one part, oil of lemon to another, and oil of orange to the last part.
For the lemon and orange flavors, add ½ teaspoon of lemon juice.
Start with 2 drops of oil for each portion and adjust to taste.
If the flavor is too strong, mix in some plain cream.
Shape the creams using stiff paper forms or small boxes, oiling them well.
Press the candy into the forms and let it firm up.
Once firm, turn out the candy and cut it into caramel shapes with a warm knife.
Wrap each piece neatly in waxed paper.

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.

Lemon + orangetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,634 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Peppermint + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,583 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Peppermint + orangetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together423 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Cream + pepperminttop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together632 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Cream + orangetop 28% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,170 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).