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 ↓
Green Apricot Compote
Ingredients
Directions
Blanch the green apricots as for preserves.
Cover them with a napkin to retain their green color, then immerse in cold water and drain on a sieve.
Boil the fine clarified sugar and add the apricots, ensuring they are covered by the syrup.
Remove from heat and let the apricots soak in the syrup for four to five hours.
Drain the apricots, boil the syrup until it reaches a thick consistency, then return the fruit to the syrup in a pan.
Allow to cool before serving in compotiers.
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
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