Why it works: Quince and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,444 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Quince Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the quinces
Peel, core, and cut up the quinces.
Place them in enough cold water to cover and stew gently until soft, but not red.
Strain the juice without pressure and weigh it.
Make the jelly
For each pound of juice, add 1 pound of crushed sugar.
Boil the juice for 20 minutes, then add the sugar and boil again until it jellies, about 30 minutes.
Stir and skim well throughout the boiling process.
Strain and set
Strain through a thin cloth into jelly glasses and cover when cold.
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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Quince + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,444 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
- Quinces
- Supply the fruit juice and natural pectin that help the jelly set.
- Crushed sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and, boiled with the juice, helps it thicken and set.
The step that matters
Strain the juice without pressure. Squeezing the cooked fruit forces through cloudy pulp and bits that can make the jelly murky and affect clarity. Letting it drip keeps the juice clear, which gives a clear, bright jelly.
“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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