Why it works: Apple and pork are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,581 recipes. Both carry 4-heptenal, which smells creamy, biscuit. The science ↓
Fried Apples
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Quarter the tart apples without peeling them.
In a skillet, heat the salt pork fryings or butter.
Cook the apples
Lay the apples close together in the skillet, skin side down.
Cover the skillet and steam the apples until tender.
Uncover and brown both sides, turning and watching closely to prevent burning.
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 + porktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,581 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tart apples
- Provide the main body and tart flavor, holding their shape when cooked in fat.
- Salt pork or butter
- Conducts heat for browning and adds richness and savory flavor to the apples.
The step that matters
Browning both sides without burning. Sugars in the apples caramelize into brown color and flavor, but they scorch quickly once the surface is dry. Turning and watching closely keeps the browning even and stops the sugars from turning bitter.
“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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