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 Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Pare the apricots.
Stone the apricots.
Halve the apricots.
Assemble and bake
Place them in a pie dish, piling them high in the middle.
Sprinkle a little sifted sugar and a few blanched and chopped apricot kernels over the apricots.
Cover with a good light crust.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) 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.
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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 main fruit filling, bringing bulk, tartness and fruity flavour as they soften.
- Sifted sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps draw out juice from the fruit as it bakes.
- Apricot kernels
- Add a subtle almond-like aroma that complements the fruit.
- Pie crust
- Encloses the fruit and browns in the oven, adding texture and structure to the pie.
The step that matters
Piling the apricots high in the middle. A mound of fruit takes longer to heat through than a flat layer. If the crust browns before the centre softens, the middle can stay underdone, so the fruit should be arranged evenly enough to cook through in the baking time.
“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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