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Oranges, Pickled

Pickled oranges preserved in vinegar, salt, coriander, and mace.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Orange and coriander match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 674 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓

Oranges, Pickled

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the oranges

  1. Cut the oranges deeply and rub them well with salt.

  2. Let the oranges stand in a warm place for 4 to 5 days.

  3. Sprinkle coriander seeds over the oranges.

Pickle

  1. Simmer the mace in boiling vinegar for 2 minutes.

  2. Pour the boiling vinegar over the oranges.

  3. Boil the vinegar once or twice and pour it again over the oranges.

  4. Cover the jar with a lid and store for use.

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.

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. Orange + coriandertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together674 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  2. Coriander + vinegartop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,829 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Coriander + macetop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together281 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  4. Orange + vinegartop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,245 recipes

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

  5. Orange + macetop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,043 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Seville oranges
Provide the fruit that is pickled, with their bitter peel and pulp flavouring the brine.
Vinegar
Acts as the pickling liquid that preserves the fruit and gives it a sharp, acidic bite.
Coarse sea salt
Draws moisture out of the oranges and seasons the fruit before pickling.
Coriander seeds
Add a warm, citrusy aroma that infuses the pickling liquid and fruit.

The step that matters

Pouring the boiling vinegar over the oranges. Vinegar must be kept at a full boil when poured, since heat helps extract flavour and begins to soften the peel. Repeating the boil and pour lets the liquid penetrate the fruit more fully.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (orange, coriander, vinegar):

  1. Cardamomfits better
  2. Peppermintfits better
  3. Gingerfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against orange, coriander, vinegar. 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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