Why it works: Apple and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Apple Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the apples
Remove the stem and top from the apples and wash them thoroughly.
Cut the apples into quarters and place them in a pot with cold water to cover.
Make the jelly
Boil the apples until soft, then strain the mixture through a jelly bag.
Measure 2 pints of the juice and combine it with 2 pounds of crushed sugar.
Boil the mixture for 20 minutes.
Use the leftover apples
For additional use, pare and core the apples, and strain them less tightly to use in sauce or pies.
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.
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Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Apple and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 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
- Apples
- Provide the pectin and fruit flavour that give the jelly its body and taste.
- Crushed sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and helps it set into a firm, spreadable gel.
The step that matters
Boil the juice with sugar for 20 minutes. Sugar and acid help pectin form a gel, but the mixture must be boiled long enough to reach the setting point. Under-boiling leaves the jelly runny, while over-boiling can make it stiff or caramelised.
“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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