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 ↓
Orange Marmalade
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the rinds
Grate the rinds of the Seville oranges and cut them into quarters.
Remove the flesh from the rinds and clear out the pips and inner skin using a small spoon.
Soak the rinds in cold water and change the water after boiling for 20 minutes.
Once tender, drain the rinds and slice them thin.
Make the marmalade
Combine 8 ounces of the sliced rinds with 1 pound of the pulp and juice, and add 1½ pounds of powdered sugar.
Boil the mixture quickly for 30 minutes, skimming off any foam.
Store
Pour the marmalade into jars for storage.
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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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
- Seville oranges
- The rinds and pulp supply pectin for setting and the bitter flavour that defines marmalade.
- Sugar
- Sugar concentrates the mixture so it sets and gives the marmalade its sweetness.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture quickly for 30 minutes. A fast, sustained boil evaporates water and concentrates the sugar and pectin so the marmalade can set. Too little boiling leaves it runny, while overcooking can darken and dull the flavour. Skimming foam keeps the finished marmalade clear.
“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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