Why it works: Sugar and orange are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 20% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,212 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Cranberry Conserve
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the cranberries
Put cranberries in a saucepan with half the water and boil until the skins break.
Rub through a strainer, then add the remaining water, sugar, raisins, nuts broken into small pieces, and the orange pulp, finely cut.
Set the preserve
Bring slowly to the boiling point, allow to cook gently for half an hour, put in small molds and chill.
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 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| 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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Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and orange barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,212 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
- Cranberries
- Provide the tart flavour and the fruit body that forms the preserve.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the tartness while helping the preserve set as it cooks.
- Orange
- Adds bright citrus aroma and a touch of acidity that lifts the cranberry flavour.
The step that matters
Bring slowly to the boil, then cook gently. Cooking gently over a long period lets the sugar and the fruit's natural pectin thicken the mixture evenly. Rushing the heat can scorch the sugar or leave the preserve too loose to set when chilled.
“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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