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
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the oranges and lemons into very thin slices.
Cover them with water and let stand 36 hours.
Cook and finish
Boil for 3 hours; add sugar; boil 2 more hours.
Just before taking off the fire, add a wine-glass of whiskey to clarify.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Bitter 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).
-
Orange + bitter orangetop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together23 recipes
Shared aroma: acetal (cream, earthy).
-
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Bitter orange + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together21 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 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
- Provides sweetness and, with the cooked peel, sets the marmalade into a spreadable gel.
- Sweet oranges
- Supply the main flavor and the peel, which contributes pectin and bitterness to the set.
- Bitter oranges
- Add sharp acidity and aromatic peel oils that give marmalade its characteristic bite.
- Lemons
- Add acidity and pectin-rich peel that help the marmalade set.
The step that matters
Boil for 3 hours; add sugar; boil 2 more hours.. Sugar must be added only after the peel has softened, because sugar hardens peel and slows its tenderizing. Boiling then concentrates the mixture until it reaches the sugar and pectin balance needed to gel.
Swap the bitter orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, orange, lemon):
- Limefits better
- Vanillafits better
- Blueberryfits better
- Bitter orangethe 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.
More orange marmalade recipes
You might also like
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Orange Cream Rice Pudding121 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.