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 ↓
Mary Jordan
Ingredients
Directions
Make the tea base
Place the tea in a large earthenware pitcher, pour the boiling water over it, cover well with a folded napkin, let stand five minutes, and strain.
Sweeten and cool
Add the sugar, the lemon juice, the orange juice, and a few crushed mint leaves if desired.
Cool the mixture, and when ready to serve, add ice and the chilled Apollinaris.
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 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Tea | 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).
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Tea + lemontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together610 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Tea + orangetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together333 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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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
- Tea
- Provides the main flavour and the tannins that give the punch its character.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the punch and balances the acidity of the lemon and orange juice.
- Lemons
- Add acidity and fresh citrus flavour to the punch.
- Oranges
- Add sweetness, juice and aroma to the punch.
- Apollinaris
- Adds carbonation, making the punch lively and effervescent.
The step that matters
Steeping the tea. Tea steeped in boiling water for too long, or left covered for too little time, can turn bitter or weak. Covering the pitcher keeps heat and aromatic compounds in, so the tea extracts evenly before straining.
“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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