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Dessert

Grape Conserve

A preserve made from grapes, orange pulp, raisins, and nuts, sweetened with sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Hamilton, Ohio. First Methodist Episcopal church. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Why it works: Grape and orange are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,771 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Grape Conserve

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fruit

  1. Pulp the grapes.

  2. Cook the pulp until soft.

  3. Strain the cooked pulp through a colander, adding the skins, orange pulp, and raisins.

Make the conserve

  1. To each cup of the mixture, add 1 cup of sugar and cook until the desired consistency (about like jelly).

  2. Add the nuts and pour the mixture into jelly glasses.

Seal

  1. Cover the glasses with paraffin.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

173Calories
2 gProtein
0 gFat
44 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Orange1 medium (131g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49

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

By Hamilton, Ohio. First Methodist Episcopal church. [from old catalog]. 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. Grape + orangetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,771 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together19,212 recipes

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

  3. Grape + sugartop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together7,490 recipes

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

Sugar and orange barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,212 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Grapes
Form the fruit base of the conserve, giving most of its body and flavor.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and, as it cooks down, helps the mixture thicken to a jelly-like set.
Orange
Adds acidity and bright aroma, balancing the sweetness of the sugar.

The step that matters

Cook to a jelly-like consistency. Sugar and fruit set as water evaporates and the mixture concentrates. Stopping too early leaves it runny, while cooking too long makes it stiff and grainy once cooled.

Swap the grape

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

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Lemonfits better
  3. Figfits better
  4. Grapethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, 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.

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