Why it works: Sugar and quince are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,444 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Apricots, Peaches, or Other Fruits
Ingredients
Directions
Preserve the apricots
Peel the apricots and scald them.
Arrange them in a compotier.
Make a strong syrup of sugar and pour the syrup over the fruits.
Serve cold.
Prepare the quinces
Peel and quarter some quinces.
Remove the cores.
Weigh the quinces.
Boil them for a quarter of an hour.
Put the sugar into a basin, a pound of sugar for a pound of fruit.
Take the quinces out and drain them.
Cook the quinces in sugar
Put them in a pre-serving pan on the sugar.
Let them simmer slowly for three hours on a moderate fire.
Stir them often, taking care not to break the quinces.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 4 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Oat | 1/2 cup dry (40g) | 154 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Fruit | not in our table | 0 |
| Quince | 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.
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.
-
Sugar + quincetop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,444 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
- Sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and thickens the syrup as it cooks down.
- Apricots (in the method)
- Supplies the fruit flavour and body of the first preserve.
- Quinces
- Provides the main fruit, whose firm flesh holds its shape during slow cooking.
The step that matters
Stir gently during the long simmer. Quinces are firm but break down if stirred roughly, and the sugar draws water out so the syrup thickens over three hours. Stirring often on a moderate heat keeps the pieces whole and stops the sugar from scorching on the base of the pan.
“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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