Why it works: Quince and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,444 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Quince Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Extract the juice
Place the quince parings and cores in a kettle and cover with cold water.
Boil until very tender.
Pour the mixture into a straining cloth over a crock and let it drain without disturbing.
Make the jelly
For every pint of juice, measure ¾ pound of sugar.
In a kettle, bring the juice to a boil.
Stir in the sugar gradually, a handful at a time.
Boil for twenty minutes and pour into glasses.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Quince + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,444 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Quince parings and cores
- Provide pectin and flavour, which help the juice set into a jelly.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the juice thicken and set as it boils.
The step that matters
Stir in the sugar gradually. Adding sugar a handful at a time lets it dissolve fully before the juice is boiled down. Undissolved sugar can crystallise and leave the jelly grainy, and the sugar helps the pectin set the jelly.
“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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