Why it works: Dates and sugar work together. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 985 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Stewed Dates
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Combine dates and water in a saucepan.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in sugar if desired and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Serve warm.
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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Dates + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together985 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Dates
- Provide the main sweetness and, as they soften in the water, a thick, spoonable body.
- Sugar
- Adds extra sweetness when desired, since the dates are the main source of flavor.
The step that matters
Reduce heat and simmer gently. Once the mixture boils, lowering the heat to a gentle simmer lets the dates soften evenly without scorching on the bottom of the pan. A hard boil can also break the dates down unevenly and cause the liquid to evaporate too quickly.
“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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