Why it works: Brandy and orange are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,706 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Ratifia of Granges or Lemons
Ingredients
Directions
Pare twelve Portugal oranges and add the rind of one large Seville orange and infuse them in four quarts of brandy.
Squeeze and strain the juice on two pounds of sugar.
Shake well together every day for a month in a jar.
Then strain and filter it for use.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Brandy | 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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Brandy + orangetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,706 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Brandy + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Brandy and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 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
- Brandy
- Acts as the solvent that extracts oil and flavour from the orange rind and preserves the liqueur.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and body, balancing the alcohol and the orange acidity.
- Portugal oranges
- Supply juice and aromatic peel oils that flavour the liqueur.
- Seville orange
- Contributes bitter, aromatic rind oils that give the liqueur its characteristic depth.
The step that matters
Shake well together every day for a month. Daily shaking keeps the sugar dissolved and spreads the juice and rind oils through the brandy, so the flavour extracts evenly over the full month.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (brandy, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Apricotfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against brandy, sugar. 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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