Skip to main content
Dessert

Peach Jam

A jam made from ripe peaches, powdered sugar, and bitter almonds.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Peach and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 466 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Peach Jam

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the peaches

  1. Gather ripe peaches, peel, and stone them.

  2. Place the peaches in a preserving pan and mash them over heat until hot.

  3. Rub the mashed peaches through a sieve.

Make the jam

  1. For every pound of peach pulp, add an equal weight of powdered sugar and half an ounce of blanched and pounded bitter almonds.

  2. Boil the mixture for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring well.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Peach + almondtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Peach + sugartop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,308 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,679 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

Ripe peaches
Provide the fruit pulp that forms the body and flavor of the jam.
Powdered loaf sugar
Sweetens the jam and helps it thicken and set as it boils.
Bitter almonds
Add a distinct aroma and a subtle bitter note that complements the peaches.

The step that matters

Boiling the mixture. Sugar and fruit must boil long enough for the pectin and sugar to reach a concentration that sets. Stirring constantly prevents scorching on the bottom of the pan, which would give a burnt flavor.

“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.

You might also like

Peach Ice CreamPeach Ice Cream64 recipesPeach FrittersPeach Fritters55 recipesPeach MeringuePeach Meringue40 recipesAlmond Sponge CakeAlmond Sponge Cake26 recipes