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Dessert

Apple Jam

A sweet preserve made from apples, brown sugar, lemon, ginger, and cloves.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Ginger and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Apple Jam

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the apples

  1. Pare the apples.

  2. Quarter the apples.

  3. Core the apples.

  4. Slice the apples thickly.

Macerate and cook

  1. In a bowl, combine the apples with brown sugar, lemon juice, lemon rinds, ginger root, and cloves.

  2. Let the mixture stand overnight.

  3. Boil the mixture until the apples turn a rich amber color and are perfectly clear.

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. Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Lemon + gingertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,154 recipes

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

  3. Apple + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,774 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Apple + gingertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,424 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Lemon + clovetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,150 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

What each ingredient does

Apples
Provide the bulk and pectin that help the jam thicken as it cooks.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and, as it cooks, helps the apples turn amber and gives the jam its body.
Lemons
Add acidity that brightens flavor and supports pectin set.
Ginger root
Adds a warm, spicy aroma that complements the apples.
Cloves
Add a warm, aromatic spice flavor to the jam.

The step that matters

Boil until the apples turn amber and clear. Boiling drives off water and concentrates sugar, so the jam thickens and darkens. Stopping too early leaves it thin and pale, while cooking too long can scorch the sugar and give a bitter taste.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, lemon, ginger, clove):

  1. Orangefits better
  2. Limefits better
  3. Quincefits better
  4. Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, lemon, ginger, clove. 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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