Why it works: Pear and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,079 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Baked Fears
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Wipe, quarter, and core the pears.
Place the pears in a deep pudding dish.
Bake
Sprinkle with sugar or a little molasses.
Add enough water to prevent the pears from burning.
Cover the dish and bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for two to three hours.
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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Pear + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,079 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
- Pears
- Provide the fruit that softens and becomes tender during slow baking.
- Sugar or molasses
- Adds sweetness and helps the pear surfaces caramelise and deepen in colour.
- Water
- Creates steam in the covered dish and keeps the pears from scorching.
The step that matters
Adding enough water. Without enough liquid in the dish, the sugar can scorch on the bottom and the pears can burn before they are tender. Covering the dish keeps moisture in during the long bake.
“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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