Why it works: Peach and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,308 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Peach Paste
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the pulp
Cut the peaches into small pieces.
Place them in a pan with a little water.
Boil the peaches, stirring continuously until reduced.
Weigh the peach pulp.
Make the paste
For each pound of pulp, use ½ cup of loaf sugar.
Clarify the sugar as for other pastes.
Boil the clarified sugar to the 'Feather' stage.
Mix the clarified sugar with the peach pulp.
Heat the mixture briefly until ready to pour out for drying.
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.
-
Peach + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,308 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ripe peaches
- Provide the fruit pulp that forms the body and flavour of the paste.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the paste and, once boiled, helps it set firm when dried.
The step that matters
Boiling the clarified sugar to the 'Feather' stage. Sugar must reach the correct concentration to set the paste when it dries. Undercooked sugar leaves the paste soft and sticky, while overcooking makes it hard and brittle.
“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.
You might also like
Peach Ice Cream64 recipes
Peach Fritters55 recipes
Peach Meringue40 recipes
Peach Ice16 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.