Why it works: Corn and orange work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 586 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Orange Float
Ingredients
Directions
Make the lemon base
Mix one quart of water, juice and pulp of two lemons, and one coffee cupful of sugar.
Boil until sugar is dissolved.
Strain, and again bring to a boil.
Add four tablespoonfuls of corn starch, mixed in a little cold water.
Stir and boil fifteen minutes.
Assemble and top
When cold, pour it over four or five sliced oranges and one can of pineapple, or any other fruit you like.
Sweeten and flavor with a few drops of vanilla.
Spread over the top the beaten whites of three eggs.
Over the top of the eggs spread thick, sweet cream, whipped to a froth.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| 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.
-
Corn + orangetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together586 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
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).
-
Corn + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,168 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Corn + eggtop 26% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,484 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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
- Corn starch
- Thickens the lemon liquid into a smooth, sliceable set once it cools.
- Eggs
- Beaten whites form a light, airy layer on top of the float.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the lemon base and balances its tartness.
- Lemons (in the method)
- Provide the juice and pulp that give the base its sharp citrus flavor.
- Oranges
- Add fresh fruit flavor and juiciness to the layered dessert.
The step that matters
Boil the starch mixture for the full fifteen minutes. Corn starch thickens when its granules swell in hot liquid and set as it cools. Boiling too briefly leaves the base thin and prevents it from setting firmly when chilled.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against corn, sugar, 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.
You might also like
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Orange Cream Rice Pudding121 recipes
Orange Gelatin100 recipes
Corn Cake90 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.