Why it works: Fig and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,241 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Tomato Figs Preserved
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the tomatoes
Dip the tomatoes in boiling water and peel them carefully.
Place the tomatoes in an earthen jar with the crushed sugar and cover them.
Set the jar in a cool, dry place for 2 to 3 days.
Make the syrup
Drain the juice into a copper basin and boil it, skimming off the scum until clear.
Let the syrup cool, then pour it over the tomatoes.
Repeat this process three times within a week.
Dry and pack
When the weather is favorable, remove the tomatoes from the jar.
Place them on dishes in the sun to dry for 6 to 7 days, turning occasionally.
Once dried, layer the tomatoes in boxes lined with white paper, sprinkling powdered sugar between layers.
Cover the boxes and store them in a dry place.
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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Fig + sugartop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,241 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fig or bed pear tomatoes
- Form the bulk of the preserve, softening and taking on sweetness as they sit in syrup.
- Crushed cube sugar
- Draws moisture out of the tomatoes and forms a syrup that preserves them and sweetens the fruit.
The step that matters
Boiling and skimming the syrup. Sugar syrup must be boiled until clear so impurities and scum are removed, and it must cool before being poured over the tomatoes. Hot syrup can cook and soften the fruit unevenly, while skimming keeps the preserve clean and 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.
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