Why it works: Orange and sugar 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 ↓
Oraiig^e Marmalade No. II
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the juice, pulp, and grated rind of the oranges with an equal weight of sugar.
Boil slowly until it reaches a thick syrup consistency.
If a bitter taste is preferred, slice the rind of 6 oranges into thin strips and boil until tender, changing the water several times.
Add the boiled rind to the fruit mixture about 10 minutes before removing it from the heat.
Bottle the marmalade while very hot.
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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Orange + sugartop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Orange and sugar 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
- Sweetens the marmalade and, as it thickens with boiling, helps it set into a spreadable gel.
- Orange rind
- Adds aroma and, when boiled tender, a bitter edge that balances the sweetness.
- Orange juice and pulp
- Supplies liquid and natural pectin, which help the mixture gel as it reduces.
The step that matters
Boil until a thick syrup consistency. Sugar and pectin only set when enough water has evaporated and the mixture reaches a high concentration. Stopping too early leaves a runny marmalade, while overcooking can make it stiff and dark.
“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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