Why it works: Apricot and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,630 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Apricot Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Place apricots in boiling water for a short time.
Remove apricots, extract the stones, and press through a fine sieve.
Make the jam
Clarify and boil the sugar until it reaches the 'Large Feather' stage.
Add the apricot pulp to the boiling sugar and mix well.
Continue boiling until the mixture thickens and adheres to a spatula.
Remove from heat and add blanched, dried apricot kernels.
Transfer to jars and cover with brandy paper and bladder.
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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Apricot + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,630 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Apricots
- Provide the fruit pulp that forms the body and flavour of the jam.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, as it boils down, helps it thicken and set.
The step that matters
Boiling until the mixture thickens and adheres to a spatula. Sugar and fruit pectin must be concentrated by boiling to reach the setting point. Stopping too early leaves the jam runny, while boiling too long can make it stiff and dull in flavour.
“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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