Why it works: Apple and quince work together. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 506 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓
Apple Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Pare and slice the apples.
Place them in a saucepan with a little water and cover to retain steam.
Cook until soft, then mash the apples.
Add sugar to taste.
Variation
For a variation, use ripe quinces or mix apples and quinces in equal proportions.
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.
-
Apple + quincetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together506 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
-
Quince + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together199 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,598 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
-
Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Apples
- Form the main body of the sauce, breaking down into a soft, spoonable purée when cooked.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the natural tartness of the apples.
- Ripe quinces
- Optional partner for apples, adding floral aroma and a firmer, pinkish texture.
The step that matters
Cover the pan while cooking the apples. Covering traps steam so the apples soften evenly in little water. Without a lid, the liquid can evaporate and the fruit may scorch before it is tender.
Swap the quince
The recipe marks quince as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apple, sugar, lemon, cinnamon):
- Orangefits better
- Pearfits about as well
- Vanillafits about as well
- Quincethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against apple, sugar, lemon, cinnamon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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 apple sauce recipes
You might also like
Apple Pudding256 recipes
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Quince Jelly131 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.