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Rhubarb Marmalade

A preserve made from rhubarb, sugar, figs, and orange.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Rhubarb Marmalade

Why it works: Rhubarb and orange work together. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 299 recipes. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, which smells clove, smoky. The science ↓

Rhubarb Marmalade

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine rhubarb, sugar, figs, orange rind, and orange juice in a bowl.

  2. Let the mixture stand overnight.

  3. In the morning, cook the mixture over medium heat for about 30 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

  1. Rhubarb + orangetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together299 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

  2. Fig + orangetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together407 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Rhubarb + figtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together48 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

  4. Sugar + figtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,241 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Rhubarb + sugartop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,852 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

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 bulk, breaking down into the marmalade's body as it cooks.
Sugar
Draws moisture out of the fruit and sweetens, helping the mixture thicken as it cooks down.
Figs
Adds body and a mild, jammy sweetness to the fruit mixture.
Oranges
Contribute bright citrus acidity and aroma from both the rind and the juice.

The step that matters

Standing overnight. Sugar draws liquid out of the fruit through osmosis, so the mixture needs time to macerate and form syrup before cooking. Skipping this rest can leave the marmalade thin and the fruit less tender once cooked.

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rhubarb, sugar, fig):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Quincefits about as well
  3. Pearfits about as well
  4. Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rhubarb, sugar, fig. 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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