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 Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the jelly
Boil the grapes with stems for 1.5 hours, adding just enough water to prevent burning.
Remove from heat and strain the mixture through a flannel jelly bag.
To the liquid, add 1 pound of sugar and return to the stove.
Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, skimming off any foam.
Jar
Pour the jelly into small jars or glasses.
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 flavour and the natural pectin and acid that help the jelly set.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and, with the cooked juice, helps the mixture thicken and set.
The step that matters
Skimming the foam while the jelly boils. Foam that is left on the surface can cloud the jelly and add off-flavours, so skimming keeps the finished jelly clear and clean-tasting.
“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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