Why it works: Lemon and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Candied Orange or Lemon Peels
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Soak the cleaned lemon or orange peels in salt and water for 2 days.
Scald and drain the peels until dry.
Boil the peels in a thin syrup until they look clear.
Remove the peels and prepare a thick syrup with fine loaf sugar.
Simmer the peels in the thick syrup until the sugar candies around the peels.
Lay the peels separately on a wire rack to drain.
Sprinkle sifted sugar over the peels and let them dry in a slow oven (300°F / 150°C).
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.
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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Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lemon and sugar 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
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