Why it works: Sugar and gelatin are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,778 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Jellied Cherries
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cherries
Stone the cherries and save the juice.
Sprinkle sugar over the cherries.
Make the gelatin
Dissolve gelatin in cold water.
Heat in a double boiler until gelatin is fully dissolved.
Combine and set
Pour the gelatin mixture over the cherries and mix well.
Transfer to a mold and refrigerate for several hours to set.
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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Sugar + gelatintop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,778 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gelatin
- Sets the liquid into a firm, sliceable jelly as it cools.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cherries and draws out their juice.
- Ripe red cherries
- Provide the main fruit flavor and bulk of the dish.
The step that matters
Heat the gelatin until fully dissolved. Undissolved gelatin granules will not set evenly and can leave gritty or rubbery spots. Gentle heating in a double boiler dissolves it fully without boiling, which can weaken its setting power.
“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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