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Dessert

Quince Marmalade

A preserve made from quince fruit, sugar, water, vinegar, pepper, salt, and mustard.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Goff, May Perrin, [from old catalog] ed · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Vinegar and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,067 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Quince Marmalade

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fruit

  1. Wash and cut the quinces into small pieces, coring but not paring them.

  2. Combine three-quarters of a pound of sugar and a teacup of water with a pound of fruit.

Cook

  1. Boil slowly for two hours, stirring and mashing it fine.

Strain and serve

  1. Strain through a colander, and put the mixture in glasses or bowls.

  2. Peaches, crab apples or sour apples may be used in the same way.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

61Calories
0 gProtein
0 gFat
14 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Fruitnot in our table0

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

By Goff, May Perrin, [from old catalog] ed. 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. See the original page.

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. Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,430 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,806 recipes

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

  5. Sugar + mustardtop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,424 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Sugar
Adds sweetness and, as it concentrates during the long simmer, helps the marmalade set.
Fruit
Provides the bulk, flavor and natural pectin that gives the marmalade its body.

The step that matters

Boiling slowly for two hours while stirring. A long, gentle simmer lets water evaporate and the sugar and fruit pectin thicken the mixture. Stirring prevents sticking and scorching on the bottom of the pan, which would give a burnt taste.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, vinegar, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Mustardthe original
  3. Cabbagefits less well
  4. Cucumberfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, vinegar, pepper. 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.

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