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Margarita Balls II

"This is a great old Texas recipe. Everyone seems to like it, but it's obviously only for grown-ups."

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 10 ingredients
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Margarita Balls II

Why it works: Orange and lime match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 937 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓

Margarita Balls II

4 dozen

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

233Calories
3 gProtein
10 gFat
33 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Cream Cheese1 oz (28g)99
Orange1 medium (131g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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. Orange + limetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together937 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  2. Vanilla + orangetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,371 recipes

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

  3. Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

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

  4. Vanilla + brandytop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together806 recipes

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

  5. Vanilla + cream cheesetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,929 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

Vanilla and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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 lime

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vanilla, cream cheese, sugar, brandy, orange):

  1. Apricotfits better
  2. Pineapplefits better
  3. Strawberryfits better
  4. Limethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vanilla, cream cheese, sugar, brandy, orange. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.