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Dessert

Jellied Apricots

A dessert of apricots set in a gelatinous syrup, served with cream.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Gelatin and cream match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,628 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓

Jellied Apricots

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the apricots

  1. Wash the apricots.

  2. Soak them overnight in cold water.

  3. Place the apricots in a double boiler.

  4. Cook over very low heat until tender but still holding their shape.

Make the syrup

  1. Measure the syrup.

  2. For each cupful, use 2 teaspoons of gelatin softened in a little cold water.

  3. Reheat the syrup.

  4. Add the gelatin.

  5. Stir until dissolved.

Mold and set

  1. Wet the molds.

  2. Place an apricot in the bottom of each mold.

  3. Pour the syrup over them.

  4. Set the molds in a cold place to harden.

  5. Turn out the jellied apricots.

  6. Serve with cream.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Gelatin + creamtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,628 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  2. Sugar + gelatintop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  4. Apricot + sugartop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,630 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Apricot + gelatintop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together78 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-pinene (pine, resin).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Evaporated apricots
Provide the fruit flavor and the pieces that sit suspended in the set jelly.
Granulated sugar
Sweetens the syrup and adds body to the finished jelly.
Gelatin
Sets the cooled syrup into a firm jelly that holds its shape when turned out.

The step that matters

Dissolving the gelatin fully. Gelatin only sets properly when it is completely dissolved in warm liquid. Stir until no granules remain before pouring, and avoid letting the syrup boil, since strong heat can weaken gelatin's setting power.

Swap the apricot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, gelatin, cream):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Strawberryfits better
  3. Raspberryfits about as well
  4. Apricotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, gelatin, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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