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 ↓
Candied Orange Peel
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the peel
Cut the rinds of the oranges into small pieces.
Boil the pieces for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, changing the water three times.
Drain the pieces thoroughly.
Candy and dry
Add the sugar and let it stand on the stove until the sugar dissolves.
Spread the mixture on plates and stir occasionally until thoroughly dry.
Store in a glass can.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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
- Oranges
- Provide the peel, which is the candied ingredient and carries the citrus flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the peel and, as it dissolves and dries, coats it to form a firm, sweet candy.
The step that matters
Drain the pieces thoroughly. Water left on the peel dilutes the syrup and slows drying, so the sugar may not coat evenly or set properly. Thorough draining helps the sugar absorb and dry into a firm coating.
“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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