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Dessert

Jellied Prunes

A chilled dessert made from prunes, gelatin, water, wine, and sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Gelatin and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,778 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Jellied Prunes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Soak the gelatin in ½ cup of the water for 2 hours.

  2. Wash the prunes and cook them slowly in the remaining water for 1 hour.

  3. Remove the prunes and take out the stones.

Make the jelly

  1. Return the prunes to the water and bring to a boil.

  2. Add the gelatin and remove from heat, stirring until dissolved.

  3. Stir in the sugar and wine.

  4. Place the pan in a bowl of ice water, stirring until it thickens.

  5. Pour into molds and refrigerate for 4 to 5 hours to harden.

Serve

  1. Serve with soft custard or whipped cream.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Gelatin + sugartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Gelatin + winetop 30% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together176 recipes

    Shared aroma: maltol (caramel, sweet).

  3. Wine + sugartop 31% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together9,581 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

Gelatin
Sets the liquid into a firm, sliceable jelly as it cools.
Prunes
Provide the main fruit flavor and body of the jelly.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and balances the tartness of the prunes and wine.
Wine
Adds acidity and aroma to the jelly.

The step that matters

Stirring the gelatin until fully dissolved. Gelatin only sets properly when it dissolves completely in hot liquid; undissolved granules leave weak spots and grainy texture in the finished 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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