Name: Pineapple and Apricot Jam
Ingredients: three pounds apricots; one pint chopped pineapple; three-quarters pound sugar to each pound of apri- cots; one pound of sugar to each pint of pineapple; one pound of quince; one pound of sugar to each pint of juice; one pound sugar to each pound of fruit; five pounds of currants; one pound of seed- less raisins; three-fourths pound sugar to each pound of cur- rants; six oranges; three oranges

Why it works: Apricot and pineapple match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 377 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

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.

Apricot + pineappletop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together377 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Apricot + quincetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together75 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Pineapple + quincetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together56 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Pineapple + orangetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,664 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Apricot + orangetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together703 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Apricots: Provide the bulk of the fruit, body, and pectin that help the jam thicken and set.
Pineapple: Adds tartness and bright flavor that balances the sweetness of the sugar.
Sugar: Sweetens the jam, thickens it as it cooks, and helps preserve it.

The step that matters

Cook until the jam sets. As water evaporates, the sugar and fruit pectin concentrate and gel. Stopping too early leaves the jam runny, while cooking too long can scorch it and make it stiff.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apricot, pineapple, sugar, quince, raisin, orange):

Vanillafits better
Figfits better
Pearfits better
Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against apricot, pineapple, sugar, quince, raisin, orange. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pineapple	1 cup chunks (165g)	82
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Apricot	1 medium (35g)	17
Quince	not in our table	0
Fruit	not in our table	0

Pineapple and Apricot Jam