Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Orange Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the base
Grate the rind of the Seville oranges and squeeze out their juice.
In a saucepan, combine the orange juice, grated rind, cream, sugar, and beaten egg whites.
Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring continuously until it thickens and turns white.
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and stir until it cools.
Finish and serve
Add the beaten egg yolks to the cooled mixture and stir well.
Heat the mixture over low heat until it is just about to boil.
Pour the mixture into a basin and stir until completely cool, then transfer to serving glasses.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, 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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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Orange + creamtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,170 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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
- Egg whites
- Set the custard as they cook, giving it body and a thickened, aerated texture.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the cream and thicken it further when gently heated, adding richness and smoothness.
- Cream
- Adds fat for a rich, smooth mouthfeel and softens the set.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cream and balances the sharpness of the orange.
- Seville orange juice
- Provides acidity and bright citrus flavour that cuts through the richness.
The step that matters
Heating the mixture over low heat until just about to boil. Egg proteins set when heated, but if the mixture gets too hot after the yolks are added, they can scramble and turn grainy. Gentle heat thickens the custard smoothly.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Strawberryfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, sugar, egg. 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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