Why it works: Apricot and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,630 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Apricot Paste
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a warm oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Bake the apricots
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
Place the apricots in a dish and cover with another dish.
Bake until tender.
Remove the apricots and let them cool.
Make the paste
In a saucepan, moisten the powdered sugar with a small amount of water.
Boil the sugar until it reaches a candy stage.
Mix the cooled apricots into the syrup, stirring continuously.
Boil until the mixture thickens to a marmalade consistency.
Shape the paste into apricot forms.
Place the forms in a warm area to dry.
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 + 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 flavour and bulk that form the body of the paste.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the paste and, once boiled, helps it thicken and set into a firm mass.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture until it thickens. Sugar and fruit must cook long enough to reach a marmalade-like thickness. Too little cooking leaves the paste soft and unable to hold its shape, while overcooking can make it stiff and grainy as the sugar crystallises.
“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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