Why it works: Clove and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Spiced Peaches
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the peaches
Peel the peaches evenly.
Sew the cinnamon and mace into three small muslin bags.
Stick the cloves into the peaches, dividing them equally.
Cook the peaches
In a preserving kettle, combine the sugar and vinegar over heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Once it boils, add as many peaches as will fit without crowding.
Boil until a straw pierces them easily, but do not let them break.
Carefully remove the peaches and place them in a stone jar next to the preserving kettle.
Repeat the boiling process with the remaining peaches.
Pour the syrup over the peaches.
Lay the spice bags on top.
Set aside to cool.
Seal and store
Cut a round piece of tissue or manila paper to fit the top of the jar.
Lay it over the peaches.
Pour a little brandy or vinegar over it.
Brush a piece of brown paper with beaten egg white.
Paste it over the jar.
Tie more paper over it.
Store in a cool place.
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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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Peach + cinnamontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together625 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
-
Clove + macetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,400 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
-
Peach + clovetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together280 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Cinnamon + macetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Peaches
- Provide the fruit that softens in the syrup and becomes tender and flavorful when boiled.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the syrup and helps preserve the peaches by drawing out moisture.
- White vinegar
- Adds acidity that balances the sweetness and helps preserve the fruit.
- Whole cloves
- Contribute warm, pungent aroma that infuses the peaches during cooking.
- Whole cinnamon
- Adds warm, sweet aroma that infuses the syrup and peaches.
- Whole mace
- Adds a delicate, warm aroma that infuses the syrup and peaches.
The step that matters
Boil until a straw pierces them easily, but do not let them break.. Overcooking softens the peach flesh until it falls apart, while undercooking leaves it firm and poorly infused. Testing with a straw checks tenderness before the fruit is removed.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peach, sugar, vinegar, clove, cinnamon):
- Allspicefits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against peach, sugar, vinegar, clove, 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.
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