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 Marmalade
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the oranges
Weigh the oranges and use twice their weight in sugar.
Place whole oranges in a large saucepan, cover with cold water, using a plate to keep them submerged.
Boil until a pin can easily pierce the skin.
Remove the oranges, cut into quarters, and separate pulp from the skin.
Cut the rind into very thin strips and combine with the pulp.
Return the pips and hard bits to the saucepan with the boiled water.
Cook the marmalade
In a preserving pan, combine the sugar, strips, and pulp, then strain the water over them.
Boil quickly for 30 minutes, skimming while boiling.
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.
-
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
- Seville oranges
- Provide the pectin, acidity and bitter peel that give marmalade its set and flavour.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the marmalade and helps it set into a firm, preserved spread.
- Boiled water
- Carries pectin and flavour from the pips and hard bits into the marmalade.
The step that matters
Boil quickly for 30 minutes. Fast boiling evaporates water and concentrates the sugar and pectin so the marmalade sets. Skimming removes foam so the final preserve looks clear.
“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.
More orange marmalade recipes
You might also like
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Orange Cream Rice Pudding121 recipes
Orange Gelatin100 recipes
Orange Sherbet73 recipesThe 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.