Why it works: Medlar and sugar work together. They rank in the top 35% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Medlar Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Wash the medlars and place them in a preserving pan with a little water.
Simmer gently until they turn to a pulp.
Strain the mixture through a flannel bag.
Make the jelly
For every pint of juice, add ½ lb of loaf sugar and boil until clear.
Pour the jelly into small shapes or pots.
If the jelly is not firm when cold, boil it longer.
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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Medlar + sugartop 35% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4 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
- Medlars
- Their natural pectin and acid let the juice set into a firm jelly.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and helps it set firm as it boils and thickens.
The step that matters
Boil until clear, then test the set. Boiling drives off water and concentrates the pectin and sugar so the juice can gel. Undercooking leaves a loose jelly, so a cold set check matters before potting.
“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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