Why it works: Sugar and orange 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-water Ice
Ingredients
Directions
Make the base
Soak the gelatine in ½ cup of water for 20 minutes.
Add 2 cups of boiling water and stir until dissolved.
Mix in 4 ounces of powdered sugar and the strained juice of 6 oranges.
Add cold water to make a total of 1 quart.
Freeze
Stir until the sugar is dissolved, then pour into a freezing can and freeze.
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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Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and orange 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
- Gelatine
- Sets gently into a body that gives the frozen ice a smoother, less icy texture.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the ice and lowers its freezing point, keeping it softer when frozen.
- Orange juice
- Provides the main flavour and acidity of the ice.
The step that matters
Dissolving the gelatine fully. Gelatine must be completely dissolved in the hot water before the juice and cold water are added. Any undissolved grains will not disperse evenly and can leave a rubbery or gritty texture in the frozen ice.
“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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