Why it works: Cranberry and orange match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 230 recipes mention both. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 6Ingredients
Contains: milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Spread the frozen baby Brussels sprouts from both 8-ounce bags in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet.
Pour the melted butter over the sprouts, sprinkle with the black pepper, and toss until evenly coated.
Roast for 18 to 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the sprouts are tender and browned at the edges.
While the sprouts roast, finely grate the zest from the orange, then cut it in half and squeeze out the juice.
Combine the whole berry cranberry sauce, the orange zest and the orange juice in a small saucepan.
Stir in the light cream and warm over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, until smooth and hot. Do not let it boil.
Transfer the roasted sprouts to a serving dish and spoon the cranberry-orange sauce over them or serve it alongside.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Cranberry + orangetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together230 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Berry + cranberrytop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together68 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Cream + buttertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together41,494 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Berry + orangetop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together38 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Pepper + orangetop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,402 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
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