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
Prepare the quinces
Rub off the down from the quinces, core them, and cut them small.
Place them in a preserving kettle with water.
Stew gently until soft without mashing.
Strain and make the jelly
Put the quinces in a thin muslin bag with the liquid and press lightly.
For each pint of liquid, add a pound of sugar and stir until dissolved.
Boil gently until it reaches a jelly consistency.
Pour into pots or tumblers and secure when cold.
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
- Quinces
- Supply natural pectin and a tart flavour that help the jelly set.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and, with pectin and acid, helps it gel and keep.
The step that matters
Boil gently until it reaches a jelly consistency. Sugar and pectin form a gel only when the sugar concentration is high enough. Boiling until the liquid reaches the jelly point drives off water so it sets firm. Stopping too early leaves it runny, while cooking too long can make it stiff or sugary.
“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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