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 ↓
Orange Cordial
Ingredients
Directions
Infuse
In a large jar, combine the quart of alcohol with the orange peelings until it is full.
Allow the mixture to sit until the alcohol is highly colored.
Make the syrup
In a saucepan, combine the sugar and clear water, and bring to a boil.
Boil until the syrup thickens, skimming off any impurities.
Once the syrup is clear, remove it from heat and let it cool slightly.
Combine
Stir the syrup into the colored alcohol until well combined.
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
- Alcohol
- Extracts the orange oils and colour from the peelings and carries the orange aroma.
- Orange peelings
- Supply the citrus oils and colour that flavour the infused alcohol.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the cordial and, dissolved in water, forms the syrup that balances the alcohol.
The step that matters
Skimming the syrup while it boils. Impurities rise to the surface as the sugar syrup boils. Removing them keeps the syrup clear, so the finished cordial does not look cloudy.
“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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