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 peaches
Peel and cut the peaches into small pieces.
Place them in a pan without water and boil to reduce.
Weigh the pulp; for every pound, add ½ pound of loaf sugar.
Make the paste
Clarify the sugar and boil it to a feather stage.
Combine the sugar with the pulp and heat for a few minutes.
Pour the mixture out and dry it in the stove like cherry paste.
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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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 flavor of the paste.
- Loaf sugar
- Adds sweetness and, once concentrated, helps the paste set firm and hold its shape.
The step that matters
Boiling the sugar to a feather stage. Sugar must reach the right concentration to set the paste properly. Too little boiling leaves it soft and sticky, while overcooking can make it hard or grainy once cooled.
“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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