Why it works: Egg and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,340 recipes. Both carry acetoin, which smells butter, cream. The science ↓
Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the jam
In a preserving pan, combine the strawberries and sugar, stirring gently to avoid breaking the fruit.
Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes.
Transfer the jam into airtight pots.
Seal the pots
To seal, cut round covers from writing paper, slightly larger than the pot tops, and smear the inside with egg white.
Tie the covers over the pots with a cord and let them dry.
Optionally, dip a circular paper in brandy and place it over the jam before sealing to prevent dampness.
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.
-
Egg + brandytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,340 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
-
Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and brandy barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 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
- Strawberries
- Provide the fruit, flavour and pectin that gives the jam its body.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it set and keep well by binding water.
- Egg white
- Smeared on the paper covers to help them stick and seal the pots.
The step that matters
Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes. Simmering long enough lets water evaporate and sugar and fruit pectin reach the concentration needed to set. Too short a time leaves a runny jam that may spoil sooner.
“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 strawberry jam recipes
You might also like
Brandy Peaches68 recipes
Brandy Cream21 recipes
Brandy Pudding13 recipes
White Cake431 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.