Name: Orange Baskets
Ingredients: 7 symmetrical oranges; ½ egg white; sugar (for frosting); bright red jelly

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 ↓

Orange Baskets

Ingredients

7 symmetrical oranges
½ egg white
sugar (for frosting)
bright red jelly

Directions

Prepare the oranges

Select 7 symmetrical oranges with a fresh, bright golden rind.
Wash and dry them.
Cut the oranges into baskets, leaving part of the rind for handles.
Remove the top and pulp.
Press out the juice and loosen the fibrous tissues from the rind.
Trim the edges of the baskets and wipe them dry.

Finish and fill

Beat the egg white and mix in enough sugar to knead into a smooth roll.
Press the roll onto the edges of the baskets.
Fill each basket with bright red jelly just before serving.

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.

Orange + sugartop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together19,212 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Orange + eggtop 31% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together10,696 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

Oranges: Form the edible shell and hold the filling, with rind left on for handles.
Egg white: Binds with sugar to form a smooth, edible decorative rim on the baskets.
Sugar: Sweetens the egg white mixture and gives it a kneadable, firm texture.
Bright red jelly: Fills the baskets, adding sweetness and a glossy, set texture.