Why it works: Quince and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,444 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Quince Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Wash the quinces and cut them into slices.
Place them in a preserving pan and barely cover with water.
Boil gently until soft, without deepening their color.
Turn the mixture into a jelly bag and let the juice drain without pressure.
Filter the juice two or three times until clear.
Make the jelly
Measure the juice and boil quickly for 20 minutes.
Stir in 12 ounces of powdered sugar for each pint of juice until dissolved.
Boil again, removing scum as it rises.
Boil until it jellies when a little is placed on a plate.
Pour into glasses or small molds immediately.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Quince + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,444 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
- Ripe yellow quinces
- Provide the pectin and tart flavor that let the juice set into a jelly.
- Powdered lump sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the juice set into a firm, glossy jelly.
The step that matters
Boil until it jellies on a plate. Pectin sets only at the right concentration of sugar and acid. Undercooking leaves runny jelly, while overcooking can make it stiff or cloudy. The cold plate test shows when it is ready.
“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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