Why it works: Plum and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,313 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Damson Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Bake or boil the damsons in a stone jar until tender and the stones separate.
If using skins, remove the stones with a spoon; if not, rub through a coarse sieve.
Measure the fruit into a preserving pan and set over a brisk fire.
Cook the fruit
Boil until the liquid evaporates and the fruit is dry.
Add ½ pound of powdered sugar for every quart of fruit and continue boiling until it candies to the sides of the pan.
Set and serve
Pour into shallow vessels and allow to cool before serving.
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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Plum + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,313 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
- Damsons
- Provide the main fruit flavour and pectin, which helps the cheese set as it cools.
- Powdered loaf sugar
- Adds sweetness and, as the mixture thickens, helps it hold a firm, sliceable set.
The step that matters
Boiling down after adding the sugar. Sugar and water loss raise the mixture's concentration and thicken it. Stop too early and the cheese stays soft and weeping; cook too long and it becomes stiff, sticky, and liable to scorch on the pan.
“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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