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 ↓
Rhubarb Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the rhubarb into inch pieces, put with the sugar and let stand overnight.
Cook
Drain off the juice in the morning and boil for 20 minutes.
Add the rhubarb, raisins, stoned lemon (juice and rind), and cook slowly for 1 hour.
Add a little preserved ginger just before taking up.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Rhubarb | 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).
-
Rhubarb + orangetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together299 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
-
Lemon + rhubarbtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together546 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Rhubarb + raisintop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together47 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Raisin + orangetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,684 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rhubarb
- Provides the tart base and the pieces that break down into the sauce.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and draws juice out of the rhubarb, and its concentration helps the sauce thicken.
- Raisins
- Add sweetness and chewy texture to the sauce.
- Lemons
- Add acidity and brightness, and their pectin helps the sauce set.
The step that matters
Cook slowly for 1 hour after adding the rhubarb. Slow cooking lets water evaporate while the rhubarb softens without breaking down completely. Sugar concentration and the pectin from the lemon help the sauce thicken as it reduces.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, lemon, rhubarb, orange):
- Limefits better
- Vanillafits better
- Blueberryfits better
- Raisinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, lemon, rhubarb, 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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