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 ↓
Oranges Preserved
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the oranges
Grate the rinds of the oranges slightly and score them with a knife, making shallow cuts.
Soak the oranges in cold water for three days, changing the water two to three times daily.
Tie the oranges in a bag and boil them in water until a pin can easily penetrate their skins.
Make the syrup and preserve
For the syrup, combine 1½ pounds of sugar with ¾ pint of water in a pot and bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes.
Strain the syrup through muslin and return it to the pot.
Add the boiled oranges to the syrup and boil until the syrup thickens and turns a nice yellow color.
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
- Oranges
- The fruit and rind are softened and preserved, becoming tender and infused with syrup.
- White sugar
- Sugar thickens the syrup, preserves the fruit and adds sweetness.
The step that matters
Boil the oranges until a pin penetrates the skins. The rinds must be fully softened before the syrup stage. Once sugar concentrates in the syrup, the peel firms up and resists softening, so undercooked rinds stay tough and bitter.
“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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