Why it works: Grape and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 23% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,490 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Grape Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Separate the skin from the pulp of the grapes, keeping them in separate dishes.
Put the pulp in a preserving kettle with the water and heat thoroughly.
Run the heated pulp through a colander to separate the seeds.
Add the skins back to the pulp, then weigh the mixture.
Cook the jam
For each pound of fruit, add ¾ pound of sugar and just enough water to prevent burning.
Cook slowly for 45 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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Grape + sugartop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,490 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
- Grapes
- Provide the fruit flavor, juice, and body, with skins adding color and tannin.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and binds water, thickening the jam and helping it keep.
The step that matters
Cooking slowly with just enough water. Sugar and fruit solids can scorch on the bottom of the kettle at high heat, so slow cooking with only enough water to prevent burning keeps the jam from tasting burnt.
“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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