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 ↓
Orange Marmalade
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Select fresh, plump, heavy fruit.
Discard tips and stems, slice in pieces about one-eighth inch thick and one to two inches long.
Put into granite preserving kettle, add the water.
Set in cool place twenty-four hours.
Cook and set
Second day divide into two kettles, place over a hot fire, boil briskly until the peel is perfectly tender.
Set aside twenty-four hours.
Add sugar and finish
Third day measure the fruit, return to the two kettles, bring to boiling point, add equal measure of sugar, boil briskly about two minutes or until it drops thickly from a spoon as any jelly.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| 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.
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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Oranges
- Peel and pulp supply the bitter aroma, pectin for setting, and the sliced texture of the finished marmalade.
- Sugar (in the method)
- Sweetens the marmalade and, with boiling, helps it thicken and set as it cooks.
- Water
- Softens the sliced peel during the long soak and first cooking, so it becomes tender.
The step that matters
Boiling until the peel is perfectly tender. Peel must soften fully before sugar is added, because sugar hardens peel and stops it from becoming tender later. Underboiled peel stays tough and chewy.
“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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