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
about twelve quartsIngredients
Directions
Prepare
Use one dozen oranges, three lemons, and four grapefruit.
Slice the fruit very thin.
Remove the seeds.
Soak and boil
Weigh the fruit; for each pound or two cups, add three cups of water.
Put the mixture in a crock and let stand twenty-four hours.
Put the crock on the fire and boil for one-half hour.
Return the mixture to the crock and let remain another twenty-four hours.
Sweeten and set
Measure the mixture; to every pint add two and one-fourth cups of sugar, then boil until it jellies slightly.
This amount will make about twelve quarts.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 6 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Fruit | 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.
-
Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,634 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Orange + grapetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,771 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Lemon + grapetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,412 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and lemon 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
- Oranges
- Peel and pith supply pectin and bitter aroma that help the marmalade set and flavour it.
- Lemons
- Add acidity and pectin, which brighten the flavour and help the preserve gel.
- Grapefruit (in the method)
- Adds bitterness and citrus aroma, and its peel contributes pectin to the set.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and, once concentrated by boiling, helps the mixture set and keeps it preserved.
The step that matters
Boil until it jellies slightly. Sugar and citrus pectin set only when the syrup reaches a high enough concentration. Stopping too early leaves the marmalade runny, while boiling too long makes it stiff and dense.
Swap the grape
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, orange, lemon):
- Limefits better
- Vanillafits better
- Blueberryfits better
- Grapethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, orange, lemon. 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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