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Dessert

Prune Mould

A gelatin set dessert of prunes arranged in a mold and filled with whipped cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Gelatin and cream match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,628 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓

Prune Mould

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the prunes and kernels

  1. Cover the prunes with cold water and boil for 1 minute.

  2. Drain the prunes and remove the stones.

  3. Crush the stones and take out the kernels.

  4. Blanch the kernels in boiling water for 1 minute.

  5. Remove the brown skin from the kernels.

Make the gelatin and set the mold

  1. Dissolve the gelatin in cold water.

  2. Heat the gelatin mixture with the sugar, coloring, and red wine.

  3. Place the prunes with a kernel on the outside of each into a mold.

  4. Pour the liquid over the prunes.

  5. Let the mixture set.

Unmold and serve

  1. Once set, turn out the mold.

  2. Fill the center with whipped cream.

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. Gelatin + creamtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,628 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  2. Sugar + gelatintop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  4. Red wine + creamtop 28% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together257 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).

  5. Sugar + red winetop 32% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together864 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

What each ingredient does

Prunes
Provide the main fruit flavor and soft, tender body to the set mold.
Gelatin
Sets the liquid into a firm, sliceable mold that holds its shape when turned out.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and balances the tartness of the wine and fruit.
Red wine
Adds acidity and aroma, and colors the liquid that surrounds the prunes.
Whipped cream
Adds richness and a light, fat-based contrast to the sweet, firm jelly.

The step that matters

Let the mixture set. Gelatin needs to cool and chill undisturbed to form a firm gel. Turning out the mold too early can cause it to collapse or stick, so it should be fully set first.

“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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