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 ↓
Graph 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 and 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.
-
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, pulp and skins that give the jam its flavour and body.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it thicken and keep as it cooks down.
The step that matters
Cook slowly over gentle heat. The sugar and fruit can scorch on the bottom of the kettle if heat is too high. Adding just enough water and cooking slowly helps prevent burning and keeps the jam from tasting caramelised or bitter.
“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.
More grape jam recipes
You might also like
Grape Sherbet32 recipes
Grapefruit Marmalade16 recipes
Grape Butter9 recipes
White Cake431 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.