Name: Honey-Mustard Chicken Skewers Recipe
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients: 2 packed teaspoons orange zest (from about 1 orange); 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from about 1 orange); 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1 lemon); 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, tenders, or thighs, cut into 1-1/2-inch squares; 3 large bell peppers (any color), cut into 1-1/2-inch squares; 8 (10-inch) metal or wooden skewers; , for serving

Why it works: Orange and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Honey-Mustard Chicken Skewers Recipe

4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

2 packed teaspoons orange zest (from about 1 orange)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from about 1 orange)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, tenders, or thighs, cut into 1-1/2-inch squares
3 large bell peppers (any color), cut into 1-1/2-inch squares
8 (10-inch) metal or wooden skewers
, for serving

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

279Calories

35 gProtein

4 gFat

26 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By chow. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,634 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27,047 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Orange + peppertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,402 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Lemon + chickentop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,092 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,958 recipes

Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lemon, sauce, chicken, pepper):

Limefits better
Avocadofits about as well
Orangethe original
Mangofits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against lemon, sauce, chicken, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.