Why it works: Rhubarb and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,852 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Canning Rhubarb
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the rhubarb
Wash the rhubarb stalks but do not peel them.
Cut into small pieces.
Blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and cool them in cold water.
Pack and syrup
Pack the rhubarb pieces tightly into Perfect Seal Jars.
Make a thick syrup with 1 pint of sugar and 1-2 pints of water, and pour it over the rhubarb to fill the jars completely.
Seal and process
Seal the jars with rubbers and tops, adjusting the spring as needed.
Sterilize the jars in a boiler for 20 minutes.
Press down the spring and remove the jars.
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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Rhubarb + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,852 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
- Rhubarb stalks
- Forms the bulk of the jar and supplies the tart flavour that the sugar balances.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the rhubarb and, dissolved in water, makes the syrup that fills the jars.
The step that matters
Blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes, then cool in cold water. Brief blanching softens the rhubarb and helps preserve its colour and texture. Cooling right away stops the cooking so the pieces stay firm rather than turning mushy in the jar.
“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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