Why it works: Apple and cider are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,238 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓
Apple Marmalade
Ingredients
Directions
Make the marmalade
Place the apples in an enamelled pan with the cider or wine and sugar.
Cook slowly over gentle heat for 3 hours.
Squeeze the mixture first through a colander and then through a sieve.
If not sweet enough, add powdered sugar to taste.
Jar
Transfer to small white jars and cover with bladder and writing paper.
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.
-
Apple + cidertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,238 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Cider + sugartop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,308 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Apple and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Acid apples
- Provide the bulk of the marmalade and natural pectin that helps it thicken as it cooks.
- Sweet cider or cape wine
- Adds liquid so the apples cook down gently without scorching and adds fruity flavour.
- Crushed loaf sugar
- Sweetens the marmalade and helps it set into a thick, spreadable texture.
The step that matters
Cook slowly over gentle heat. Long, gentle cooking softens the apples and evaporates liquid slowly, so the mixture thickens without scorching on the bottom of the pan.
“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.
More apple marmalade recipes
You might also like
Apple Pudding256 recipes
Apple Cake80 recipes
Apple Meringue75 recipes
Dried Apple Cake51 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.