Why it works: Orange and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Orange Marmalade
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the rind of the oranges into very thin strips, remove the pulp, and take out the seeds.
For every pound of rind and pulp, add ½ pint of cold water and soak for 24 hours.
For each dozen oranges, use 2 lemons, cut in the same way.
Cook and test
Weigh the mixture and add 1 pound of preserving sugar for every pound of orange.
Boil and skim constantly until done.
To test, place some in a saucer in a cool place; if it jellies, it is cooked enough.
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 + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,634 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Orange + sugartop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Provide the rind, pulp and pectin-rich membranes that give marmalade its body and bitter flavour.
- Preserving sugar
- Sweetens the marmalade and helps it set into a firm, spreadable gel.
- Lemons
- Add extra acidity and natural pectin to help the marmalade set.
The step that matters
Boil and skim constantly until done. Sugar and pectin only gel once enough water has boiled off and the mixture reaches the setting point. Skimming removes foam and scum that would cloud the marmalade and spoil its clarity.
“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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