Why it works: Apricot and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 852 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Jam, Apricot, or Any Plum
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Remove the stones and blemishes from the apricots.
Place the apricots in a clean saucepan with ½ cup of water over low heat.
Once scalded, rub the apricots through a fine sieve to obtain the pulp.
Cook the jam
In a preserving pan, combine the pulp with 2 pounds of sifted sugar over high heat.
Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam, and add the apricot kernels and bitter almonds if using.
Boil for 15 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and pour into pots, covering as directed for raspberry jam.
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 + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together852 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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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 pulp, flavour and natural pectin that help the jam set.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, at high concentration, helps it thicken and keep.
- Bitter almonds
- Add a deep, nutty aroma that complements the apricot flavour.
The step that matters
Boil for 15 minutes, stirring constantly. Sugar and fruit acids must reach a rolling boil long enough for the pectin to set the jam. Constant stirring prevents sticking and scorching on the bottom of the pan, which would give a burnt taste.
“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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