Why it works: Orange and currant are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,034 recipes. Both carry alpha-pinene, which smells pine, turpentine. The science ↓
Wild Duck, with Oranges
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the duck
Pluck and draw the wild duck carefully.
Wipe out the inside of the duck.
Cut off the head and neck.
Scald the feet.
Cook and serve
Place the duck close to a sharp fire for a few minutes to keep the gravy in.
Baste the duck plentifully with butter until cooked through.
Serve with brown gravy flavored with orange juice and port, and garnish with an orange salad.
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 + curranttop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,034 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Wild duck
- Provides the main meat, which the cooking turns tender and juicy.
- Brown gravy
- Adds moisture and a savory base for the sauce served with the duck.
- Roux
- Thickens the gravy by using starch and fat to bind the liquid.
- Port
- Adds sweetness and depth of flavor to the gravy.
- Orange juice
- Adds acidity and fruity sweetness that balance the rich duck and gravy.
The step that matters
Baste the duck plentifully with butter until cooked through.. Butter fat carries heat to the skin, helping it brown and keeping the surface from drying out. Basting throughout the cooking helps the meat stay moist, and the duck must be checked to be fully cooked through.
“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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