Why it works: Crab and cider work together. They rank in the top 23% of all ingredient pairs, and 12 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-phenylethanol, which smells honey, floral. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: shellfish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Also mentioned in the method: crab
Directions
Prepare the apples
If using Siberian crabs, wipe them clean; if using French crabs, peel them.
Place the apples in a pot and simmer until tender.
Make the syrup
In a separate pot, combine the sugar and cider to make a syrup.
Boil the syrup, reducing it and skimming until thick.
Finish
Pour the thick syrup over the apples in earthenware or glass jars.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Crab + cidertop 23% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together12 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-phenylethanol (honey, floral).
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Crab + sugartop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together407 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (grass, green).
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Sugar + cidertop 16% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together1,443 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Crab apples
- Provide the fruit, pectin and tart flavor that form the preserve's body.
- Lump sugar
- Sweetens the preserve and, once boiled down, thickens the syrup and helps preserve the fruit.
- Cider
- Dissolves the sugar into a liquid syrup and adds fruity acidity.
The step that matters
Boiling and skimming the syrup until thick. Sugar syrup must reduce enough to reach a high concentration, which thickens the preserve and helps keep it from spoiling. Skimming removes foam and impurities so the syrup stays clear and smooth.
“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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