Why it works: Cream and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 24% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 42,166 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Orange Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Whip a pint of cream until one-half the quantity is left when skimmed off.
Soak the gelatine in half a cup of cold water.
Grate the rind of two oranges over the soaked gelatine.
Strain the juice of six oranges and add a cupful of sugar.
Put half a pint of cream in a double boiler.
Make the custard
Pour the cream into the double boiler and add the well-beaten yolks of six eggs.
Stir until the mixture begins to thicken.
Add the gelatine, remove from heat, and let stand for two minutes.
Add the orange juice and sugar, then beat all together until about the consistency of soft custard.
Set and serve
Add the whipped cream and mix well.
Pour the mixture into molds to harden.
Serve with sweetened cream.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Cream + orangetop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,170 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Orange + eggtop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,696 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken the custard base and add richness and structure as they set with gentle heat.
- Gelatine (in the method)
- Sets the mixture so it holds its shape when chilled in molds.
- Cream
- Adds fat and a light, soft texture, especially once whipped and folded in.
- Oranges
- Provide acidity, sweetness and aroma from the juice and rind.
- Sugar (in the method)
- Adds sweetness and balances the tartness of the orange juice.
The step that matters
Add the gelatine, remove from heat, and let stand for two minutes.. Gelatine must be fully dissolved into the warm custard without boiling. Overheating the eggs can curdle the mixture, and gelatine added to a cold or lumpy base sets unevenly.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raspberryfits better
- Strawberryfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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.
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