Name: Citrus-Infused Custard Sauce
Yield: Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients: 1 cup whole milk; 1 cup heavy cream; 4 (3- by 1-inch) strips orange zest removed with a vegetable peeler; 4 (3- by 1/2-inch) strips lemon zest removed with a vegetable peeler; 2 large eggs; 1/3 cup sugar; pinch salt

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 ↓

Citrus-Infused Custard Sauce

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 (3- by 1-inch) strips orange zest removed with a vegetable peeler
4 (3- by 1/2-inch) strips lemon zest removed with a vegetable peeler
2 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
pinch salt

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

521Calories

16 gProtein

33 gFat

44 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

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

By epicurious. 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.

Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,634 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,053 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk + orangetop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,696 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,399 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

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 (milk, cream, lemon, egg, sugar):

Vanillafits better
Raspberryfits about as well
Orangethe original
Figfits about as well

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

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