Why it works: Apple and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Blackberry and Apple Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the juice
Cover blackberries and apples with water.
Boil slowly for 2 hours.
Strain through a jelly bag.
Make the jelly
For every pound of juice, add a pound of loaf sugar.
Boil for 10 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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Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Apple and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Blackberries
- Provide the main flavour, colour and natural pectin for the jelly's set.
- Apples
- Add natural pectin and acidity that help the jelly set.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and, with boiling, helps it set and preserves it.
The step that matters
Boil for 10 minutes after adding sugar. Sugar must dissolve fully and the mixture must reach a rolling boil so pectin and acid can work together to set the jelly. Boiling too briefly can leave it runny, while overcooking can make it stiff or dull in 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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