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Dessert

Pineapple Chutney

A sweet and tangy pineapple chutney made with vinegar, brown sugar, and assorted spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Almond and raisin are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,781 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓

Pineapple Chutney

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut pineapple into ¾ inch pieces.

Cook

  1. In a pot, combine pineapple, vinegar, brown sugar, and salt.

  2. Cook slowly for 20-30 minutes.

  3. Stir in remaining ingredients and continue cooking over low heat until thickened.

  4. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching.

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.

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. Almond + raisintop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,781 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

  2. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,090 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Clove + raisintop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,070 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  5. Clove + garlictop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,368 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

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

What each ingredient does

Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and, as it cooks down, helps the chutney thicken into a glossy, rich syrup.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that balances the sweetness and brightens the fruit flavor.
Sliced pineapple
Provides the main fruit body and moisture that cooks down into the chutney.
Seedless raisins
Add chewy texture and concentrated sweetness as they soften during cooking.

The step that matters

Stir occasionally to prevent scorching. Sugar and fruit can burn on the bottom of the pot as liquid evaporates and the mixture thickens. Regular stirring over low heat spreads the heat evenly and keeps the chutney from sticking and taking on a bitter, burnt flavor.

Swap the raisin

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

  1. Cherryfits better
  2. Limefits better
  3. Figfits better
  4. Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pineapple, vinegar, sugar, clove, garlic, almond, 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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