Why it works: Sugar and orange are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 20% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,212 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Orange-flower Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Beat in three-quarters of a pint of water, or more, and about a quarter of an egg white, and pour into two pounds of sugar broken into lumps.
Let the mixture stand a little time.
Place it over a very clear fire and let it boil for a few minutes.
Set it on one side until the scum has subsided; clear it off.
Boil the sugar until it is very thick.
Add the blossoms
Gradually stir in three ounces of orange blossom petals, weighed after picking from stems.
Continue stirring until the candy rises into one white mass in the pan.
Shape and store
Quickly lay the mass into cakes with a large spoon onto thick, very dry sheets of writing paper placed flat on the backs of dishes or upon trays.
Take it off before it is entirely cold, and lay the candy reversed upon dishes, or place the cakes on their edges round the rim of one until they are perfectly cold.
Secure them from the air in close-shutting tin boxes or canisters.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
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.
-
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).
-
Orange + eggtop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,696 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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
- Sugar
- Forms the candy base, setting into a firm, crisp mass as it cools.
- Orange blossom petals
- Provide the characteristic floral aroma of the candy.
- Egg white
- Helps clarify the syrup, binding scum that is skimmed off during boiling.
The step that matters
Continue stirring until the candy rises into one white mass. Boiling the sugar to the right thickness and then stirring it as it cools makes it turn opaque and grainy, which is what lets it hold its cake shape. Taking it off the heat too early or too late changes how firm and white the candy becomes.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Lemonfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against 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.
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