Why it works: Rhubarb and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,852 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Rhubarb Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the juice
Wash the rhubarb stalks and cut them into pieces without peeling.
Cover the rhubarb with cold water and simmer until soft.
Strain the juice through a jelly bag without squeezing.
Add the sugar
For every pint of juice, use 1 pound of sugar.
Heat the sugar in a 350°F (175°C) oven, stirring frequently.
After 15 minutes of boiling the juice, add the heated sugar and stir well.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Rhubarb + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,852 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rhubarb stalks
- Supplies the tart juice that becomes the jelly.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the juice and helps it set into a firm gel.
The step that matters
Add the hot sugar to the boiling juice and stir well. Sugar must dissolve fully and evenly before the mixture gels. Undissolved sugar can crystallise or scorch on the bottom of the pan, so stirring keeps the set smooth and uniform.
“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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