Why it works: Pineapple and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,841 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Pineapple Chips
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very slow oven”. The 300°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Peel and slice the pineapples thinly.
Dry the fruit
Place the slices on dishes and sprinkle with plenty of sugar.
Keep the slices in a very slow oven (300°F / 150°C) or a warm place for 8 to 10 days.
Turn the fruit daily until dry.
Finish and store
Once dry, place the pieces on baking sheets.
Put them in a hot oven (400°F / 200°C) for 10 minutes.
Let them cool.
Store them in dry boxes with paper between each layer.
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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Pineapple + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,841 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
- Pineapples
- Provide the fruit that dries into the chips, with their natural sugars concentrating as moisture leaves.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and draws moisture out of the fruit, helping it dry and become chewy.
The step that matters
Drying the slices slowly and turning them daily. Sugar draws water out of the fruit slowly, and low, steady heat dries it without scorching. Turning the slices daily exposes every side to air so they dry evenly rather than sticking, going moldy, or browning unevenly.
“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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