Why it works: Sugar and plum are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,313 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Plum Vol-au-vent
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Boil the sugar in water for 10 minutes.
Remove the stalks from the plums, wash, and drain them.
Poach the plums
Add the plums to the syrup and let them boil once.
Reduce heat and simmer gently for about 3 minutes until tender but not broken.
Carefully lift the plums out and boil the syrup until thickened.
Finish and serve
Strain the syrup and let it cool, then pour it over the plums.
Do not add the fruit to the pastry until just before serving.
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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Sugar + plumtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,313 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Plums
- Supply the fruit flavour and soften while holding their shape when gently poached.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the dish and, when boiled, thickens with water into the syrup that coats the fruit.
The step that matters
Simmer the plums gently, not at a hard boil. Vigorous boiling breaks down the plums' skins and flesh, so they turn to mush and cloud the syrup. Gentle heat softens the fruit while keeping it whole and tender.
“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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