Why it works: Apricot and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,630 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Strawberry and Apricot Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Scald and skin the apricots, then quarter them before measuring.
Leave the strawberries whole.
Cook the jam
Combine the fruit and sugar in a pot over low heat to create a syrup.
Once syrup forms, let it boil slowly for about 45 minutes.
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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Apricot + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,630 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Strawberries
- Provide the main flavour and soft fruit body of the jam.
- Apricots
- Add natural pectin and tart fruit flavour that balances the sweetness.
- Granulated sugar
- Draws water out of the fruit, forms the syrup, and helps the jam set and keep.
The step that matters
Letting the syrup boil slowly. Sugar and fruit must reach a high enough concentration to gel as they cool. Too little boiling leaves the jam runny, while overcooking can darken and caramelise it and dull the fresh fruit flavour.
“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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