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Dessert

China Orange Jelly

A gelatinous dessert made from China oranges, sugar, citrus, wine, and brandy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Lemon and coriander match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,498 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

China Orange Jelly

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the flavourings

  1. Rub the bloom of the China oranges on the lump sugar, then scrape the residue onto a plate.

  2. Peel the Seville oranges very thinly.

  3. Peel the lemons very thinly.

Make the jelly

  1. Place the peeled Seville oranges and lemons in a saucepan with the water, isinglass, cinnamon, coriander seeds, and remaining sugar.

  2. Boil for about 15 minutes.

  3. Strain the mixture into a bowl.

  4. Add the white wine, brandy, and the juice of the oranges and lemons.

  5. Strain through a fine sieve.

  6. Stir in the sugar that was rubbed from the oranges until the mixture is cold and begins to thicken.

Set and serve

  1. Pour the mixture into a mold.

  2. Garnish with sliced China oranges.

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. Lemon + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,498 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,634 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Orange + cinnamontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,437 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Cinnamon + coriandertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,635 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,950 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

What each ingredient does

Isinglass
Gelatine-like setting agent that firms the liquid into a sliceable jelly as it cools.
Lump sugar
Adds sweetness and, once rubbed with orange bloom, carries the orange oil aroma into the jelly.
White wine
Adds acidity and body to the liquid, balancing the sweetness of the sugar.
Brandy
Adds aroma and warmth to the jelly's flavour.
China oranges
Supply juice and fragrant peel oil that give the jelly its main citrus flavour.

The step that matters

Stirring in the sugar while the mixture cools. Isinglass sets as the liquid cools, so the mixture must be cold and only just thickening before the mould is filled. Adding sugar at this point lets it dissolve evenly without clouding the set, and pouring too early or too late affects the final texture.

Swap the coriander

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (orange, sugar, lemon, cinnamon, white wine, brandy):

  1. Cardamomfits better
  2. Nutmegfits better
  3. Clovefits better
  4. Corianderthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against orange, sugar, lemon, cinnamon, white wine, brandy. 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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