Why it works: Lemon and orange 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 ↓
Maraschino Punch
Ingredients
Directions
Make the punch
In a bowl, mix powdered sugar, cold water, lemon juice, grated orange rind, orange juice, and maraschino.
Strain the mixture into your freezer.
When nearly frozen, add the beaten egg whites and finish freezing.
Serve
When serving, pour 1 teaspoon of maraschino over each glass of punch.
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 + orangetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,634 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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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
- Egg whites
- Whipped whites add a light, airy, foamy texture to the frozen punch.
- Powdered sugar
- Dissolves easily into the cold liquid, adding sweetness.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that balances the sweetness of the punch.
- Maraschino
- Provides the main liqueur flavour, with a cherry-almond aroma.
The step that matters
When nearly frozen, add the beaten egg whites. If the mixture is fully frozen, the whites cannot fold in evenly and the punch turns grainy; if it is still liquid, the whites sink and deflate. Timing the addition at a slushy stage keeps the foam light.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, lemon, egg):
- Orangethe original
- Vanillafits about as well
- Limefits less well
- Raisinfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, lemon, 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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