Why it works: Apple and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Baked Apples
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Wipe the apples well with a damp cloth.
Place them on a greased Yorkshire pudding tin.
Bake and serve
Sprinkle the apples with a little water and then with granulated sugar.
Bake in a moderate oven (350°F / 175°C) until soft, about 20 minutes to 1 hour depending on the type of apple.
Once ready, lift them onto a clean dish and sprinkle with a little sugar.
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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Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Apple and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Apples
- Form the body of the dish and soften into a tender, spoonable flesh when baked.
- Granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the surface caramelise lightly as the apples bake.
The step that matters
Baking until soft. Apples vary in firmness, so the baking time changes with the variety. Testing for softness rather than relying on the clock prevents apples that stay firm in the centre or collapse entirely.
“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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