Name: Grilled Fruit Pouches
Ingredients: 4 peaches , peeled and sliced into eighths; 2 cups crystallized ginger , crushed; 4 plums , quartered; 6 tbsp white granulated sugar; ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , divided; 6 oz brandy; 1 pinch of salt; 1 tbsp finely-grated lemon zest

Why it works: Peach and plum match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 163 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Grilled Fruit Pouches

Time7 minutes

Ingredients

4 peaches , peeled and sliced into eighths
2 cups crystallized ginger , crushed
4 plums , quartered
6 tbsp white granulated sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , divided
6 oz brandy
1 pinch of salt
1 tbsp finely-grated lemon zest

Directions

Prepare

Toss fruit, sugar, salt, lemon zest, and brandy in a large bowl. Set aside.
Scatter a foundation of crystallized ginger on four large sheets of aluminum foil.
Place the fruit mixture on top of the ginger.
Top with one tablespoon of butter and fold the foil into a pouch.

Grill and serve

Place the pouches in the hot coal area of a kettle grill.
Cook for 7 minutes.
Serve warm.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

254Calories

2 gProtein

12 gFat

38 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Peach	1 medium (150g)	59
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Plum	1 medium (66g)	30
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Brandy	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

Peach + plumtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together163 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ginger + lemontop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,154 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Peach + gingertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together218 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ginger + plumtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together272 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Plum + brandytop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together168 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Peaches: Provide the main fruit body, softening and releasing juices that combine with the brandy and sugar.
Crystallized ginger: Adds sharp, spicy aroma and sweetness, and sits under the fruit to flavor it as it cooks.
Plums: Add tart juiciness and fruit flavor that balances the sweetness of the sugar.
White granulated sugar: Sweetens the fruit and helps form a syrupy juice as the fruit softens over heat.
Unsalted butter: Adds richness and fat, carrying flavor and helping the fruit juices become silky.

The step that matters

Place the pouches in the hot coal area. Direct heat from hot coals cooks the fruit quickly and can scorch the foil or burn the sugar; the pouch must be sealed well so juices simmer rather than escape.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peach, ginger, plum, sugar, butter, brandy):

Apricotfits better
Pearfits better
Vanillafits better
Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against peach, ginger, plum, sugar, butter, brandy. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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.

Mixed Fruit Sherbet6 recipes

Lemon Cake228 recipes

Ginger Cookies213 recipes

Lemon Ice147 recipes

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Grilled Fruit Pouches