Why it works: Lemon and orange 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 ↓
Papaya Punch
Ingredients
Directions
Make the punch
Make a strong lemonade from 6 lemons.
Add 1 medium sized papaya cubed.
Add 5 or 6 bottles of ginger ale, according to amount desired.
Stew the papaya
Cut papaya into dice.
Stew papaya with 1/4 cup sugar, juice of 2 lemons, 2 cups diced papaya, and 1/4 cup water for 1 hour.
Can use 4 China oranges in place of lemons.
Cook in the same manner as stewed papaya 1, with 1/4 cup sugar and only enough water to keep from burning.
Serve
Serve in sherbet glasses as a first course for luncheon, or a dessert.
Serve as a vegetable.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 5 ingredients. The other 2 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Ginger | 1 tsp grated fresh (2g) | 2 |
| Papaya | not in our table | 0 |
| 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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Lemon + orangetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,634 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Ginger + orangetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,833 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Lemon + gingertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,154 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Papaya + gingertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together49 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Papaya + orangetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together49 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lemons
- Provide the sour acidity that balances the sweetness of the punch.
- Papaya
- Supplies the fruity flavor and, when stewed, a soft, tender texture.
- Ginger ale
- Adds carbonation, sweetness and a gingery flavor to the punch.
- Sugar (in the method)
- Sweetens the stewed papaya and helps it thicken into a syrupy texture.
The step that matters
Stewing the papaya with little water. With only a small amount of water, the sugar and fruit can scorch on the bottom of the pan. Keep the heat low and stir so the papaya softens and the sugar caramelizes gently rather than burning.
Swap the papaya
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lemon, ginger, orange):
- Limefits better
- Mangofits better
- Cherryfits about as well
- Papayathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lemon, ginger, orange. 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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