Name: Orange Cider
Ingredients: 2 gallons water; 1 gallon rock candy syrup; 2 ounces orange extract; 2 ounces citric acid solution; slices of orange

Why it works: Syrup and orange are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 23% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,179 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Orange Cider

Ingredients

Directions

Combine water and rock candy syrup in a large container.
Stir in orange extract and citric acid solution.
Add a few slices of orange for color.
If desired, dilute with more water to taste.

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.

Syrup + orangetop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,179 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Rock candy syrup: Provides the sweetness and body that balance the acidity of the citric acid.
Citric acid solution: Adds tartness, giving the drink a sharp, cider-like bite.
Orange extract: Supplies the orange aroma and flavor that defines the drink.

“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.