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 ↓
Plum Marmalade
Ingredients
Directions
Scald the plums until the skins peel off and remove the stones.
Combine the plums with the sugar and let them sit for a few hours.
Boil the mixture until it reaches a smooth consistency.
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.
-
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
- Plums
- Provide the fruit pulp and natural pectin that give the marmalade its body and fruity flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and, when boiled down, helps thicken the mixture and preserve it.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture until it reaches a smooth consistency. Sugar and fruit must be cooked long enough for the sugar concentration and pectin to set the mixture. Undercooked marmalade stays runny, while overcooking can make it stiff, dull, or caramelized.
“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.
More plum marmalade recipes
You might also like
Mixed Fruit Sherbet6 recipes
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.