Why it works: Bitter orange and sugar work together. They rank in the top 41% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14 recipes. The science ↓
Genuine Scotch Marmalade
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Cut the rind of the oranges into quarters and peel it off, removing some of the spongy white skin if a thinner marmalade is desired.
Cut the rind into thin chips, about half an inch long, and divide the pulp into small bits, removing the seeds.
Steep the seeds in part of the water (3 quarts total) for 12 to 14 hours.
Put the chips and pulp into a deep dish and pour boiling water over them.
Cook and set
Transfer the mixture to a preserving pan and boil until the chips are tender.
Add the jelly to the fruit mixture when it is first set on the fire.
Gradually add the pounded sugar and boil until it jellies.
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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Bitter orange + sugartop 41% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together14 recipes
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Bitter oranges
- Provide the peel, pulp and seeds that supply the bitter flavour and natural pectin for setting.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the marmalade and, when boiled, helps the mixture reach a firm, spreadable set.
The step that matters
Strain the seeds to extract the jelly. Seeds and pith hold much of the natural pectin. Working them gently with a spoon releases this pectin into the water, giving the jelly enough body to set. Pressing too hard can cloud the jelly with bits of pulp.
“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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