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 ↓
Dandelion Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the infusion
Combine 4 quarts dandelion flowers, 4 quarts water, grated rind of 2 oranges, and grated rind of 1 lemon in a pot.
Boil the mixture for 20 minutes.
Strain the liquid through a fine sieve or cheesecloth.
Ferment
Add 3 lbs granulated sugar to the strained juice.
Let the mixture cool until lukewarm.
Add a cake of yeast to the mixture.
Slice the 2 oranges, removing any seeds.
Add the sliced oranges to the mixture.
Let the mixture stand for 3 or 4 days.
Bottle the wine, but do not cork it tightly.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| 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.
-
Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,634 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
-
Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast and provides the sweetness and alcohol the wine develops.
- Yeast (in the method)
- Converts the sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide during fermentation.
- Dandelion flowers (in the method)
- Supply the main flavour and colour of the wine.
- Oranges
- Add citrus aroma and acidity to balance the sweetness.
The step that matters
Bottle the wine, but do not cork it tightly. Fermentation keeps releasing carbon dioxide. A tight cork can trap enough gas to build pressure and burst the bottle, so the wine needs room to vent.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, lemon, egg):
- Orangethe original
- Vanillafits about as well
- Limefits less well
- Raisinfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, lemon, egg. 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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