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 ↓
Hungarian Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the base
Gather six oranges, two lemons, six or eight eggs (according to price), and one large cup of sugar.
Squeeze the juice of the oranges and lemons, grate a bit of rind of each into the juice, and add the sugar.
Add the beaten yolks of the eggs to the mixture.
Make the cream
Place all in a double boiler until it becomes a fine velvety paste, well done.
Beat the egg whites very stiffly.
Remove the paste from the heat and beat in the stiff whites gradually and steadily until thoroughly mixed.
Serve in individual punch or other molds.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
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.
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.
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Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,634 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Orange + sugartop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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 citrus mixture into a velvety paste, and whites add lightness when beaten stiff.
- Oranges
- Juice provides the main flavor and acidity that balances the sweetness.
- Lemons
- Juice adds sharp acidity and aroma from the rind.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the citrus and helps give the cream its smooth body.
The step that matters
Beat the whites into the paste off the heat. Folding stiff whites into a paste that is still hot can deflate them and cause the mixture to weep or cook unevenly. Removing the pan from the heat first lets the whites blend in gently and keeps the cream light.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lemon, egg, sugar):
- Orangethe original
- Vanillafits about as well
- Limefits less well
- Raisinfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against lemon, egg, sugar. 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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