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 ↓
Rhubarb Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Macerate
Place the sugar over the rhubarb and let it sit for 24 hours to draw out the juice.
Cook
Boil the sugar and juice together for 20 minutes.
After it begins to boil, add the rhubarb and boil slowly for 20 minutes longer.
If simmered gently, it will not require stirring, and the pieces of rhubarb will remain separate.
Store
Store in a cool, dry place; it will keep for a year.
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
- Provides the tart fruit base and the pieces that give the jam its body.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam, draws out the rhubarb juice, and helps the jam set and keep.
The step that matters
Boil slowly after adding the rhubarb. Vigorous boiling breaks the rhubarb pieces apart and can scorch the sugar. A gentle simmer keeps the pieces whole and lets the syrup thicken evenly without constant stirring.
“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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