Why it works: Sugar and syrup match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,842 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Orange Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Peel the oranges, removing the rind completely.
Cut the oranges into quarters and blanch them in boiling water for 15 minutes.
Remove the oranges from the water and take out the seeds.
Place the oranges in a light syrup and simmer until the syrup thickens.
Remove from heat and let cool, then cover the oranges with syrup.
Dip each quarter in melted butter and fry until golden brown.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.
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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Sugar + syruptop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,842 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Orange + sugartop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Orange + syruptop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,179 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Orange + buttertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,301 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, syrup):
- Vanillafits better
- Peachfits better
- Apricotfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, syrup. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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