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 Salad No. 2
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Peel and slice six seedless oranges and four bananas, and arrange them in alternate layers in the salad dish.
Make the dressing
Beat the yolks of five eggs for five minutes.
Add one cupful of granulated sugar and beat until thick.
Add a pinch of salt and the juice of two lemons, and beat again.
Chill and serve
Pour the dressing over the prepared fruit and set aside on ice, as it must be very cold when served.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 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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Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,634 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 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 + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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
- Eggs
- Beaten yolks thicken the dressing and add richness and body.
- Granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness and, when beaten with the yolks, helps the dressing thicken.
- Lemons
- Juice adds acidity that brightens the sweet dressing and fruit.
- Seedless oranges
- Provide the main fruit, with sweetness and juicy texture.
The step that matters
Chilling the salad on ice. Cold keeps the fruit firm and the dressing from thinning, and it slows browning and spoilage in cut fruit. The record requires the salad to be very cold when served, so it should not sit at room temperature.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, lemon):
- Orangethe original
- Vanillafits about as well
- Limefits less well
- Raisinfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, 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.
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