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 Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slack oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the apricots
Place the ripe apricots in a jar and cover it.
Bake in a 300°F (150°C) oven until soft.
Rub the baked apricots through a fine sieve.
Add 14 ounces of sugar for each pound of apricots.
Prepare the kernels
Break the stones and remove the skins from the kernels.
Boil the kernels for a few minutes.
Grind the kernels as finely as possible.
Make the cheese
Mix the ground kernels with the apricot and sugar mixture.
Boil over a charcoal fire, stirring constantly, until thick.
To test, drop some from a spoon; if it stays on top, it's done.
Pour into pots, shapes, or tins, or onto tin plates.
Once cold, cut into squares, rounds, or diamonds.
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
- Ripe apricots
- Provide the main fruit body, flavour and natural pectin for the set.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and, when boiled down, helps the paste thicken and set firm.
- Apricot kernels
- Add a bitter, almond-like aroma that complements the apricot flavour.
The step that matters
Boiling until thick. Sugar and fruit must be cooked long enough to reach a setting concentration; stopping early leaves a soft paste that will not hold its shape when cut, while overcooking can scorch the sugar over the charcoal fire.
“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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