Why it works: Orange and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,706 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Brandy Oranges
Ingredients
Directions
Remove the rind from the oranges and puncture them.
Soak the oranges in fresh water.
Blanch the oranges over moderate heat, then plunge them into cold water.
Dissolve sugar and boil it to make a syrup.
Place the oranges in a kettle and boil until bubbles form on the surface.
Remove the kettle and let the oranges stand for 24 hours.
Boil the oranges again to the same point, then drain.
Repeat the boiling and draining process a third time.
Put the syrup back on the fire and boil for a few minutes.
Once cooled, add two parts brandy to the syrup and mix thoroughly.
Filter the mixture through a cloth and pour it over the oranges until fully covered.
Seal the jars tightly to preserve the oranges.
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 + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,706 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Orange + sugartop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and brandy barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 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
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, brandy):
- Vanillafits better
- Apricotfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, brandy. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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