Why it works: Apricot and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,630 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Apricot Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Pare and halve the apricots, break the stones, and blanch the kernels.
Add the kernels to the apricot halves.
Cook the jam
In a pot, combine the apricots, sugar, and water.
Set over a brisk fire and stir until the mixture thickens, but do not let it become too stiff.
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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Apricot + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,630 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Apricots
- Provide the fruit flavor and pectin-rich body that thickens into the jam.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it set into a thick, spreadable texture.
The step that matters
Stirring until thickened without over-stiffening. Sugar and fruit pectin set as the mixture reduces, so stopping at the right point gives a spreadable jam. Cooking too long makes it stiff and dense as water evaporates and sugar concentrates.
“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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