Why it works: Sugar and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Stewed Prunes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash and pick over the prunes.
Put the prunes in a saucepan and cover with cold water.
Soak for two hours.
Cook and sweeten
Cook in the same water until soft.
When nearly cooked, add sugar or molasses to sweeten.
Add a small quantity of lemon juice for improved flavor, if desired.
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 + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Prunes
- Provide the main body and sweet, concentrated fruit flavor as they soften in the liquid.
- Sugar or molasses
- Adds sweetness and, with molasses, a deeper caramel-like flavor.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the sweetness and sharpens the fruit flavor.
The step that matters
Adding sugar or molasses near the end. Sugar dissolves and flavors the liquid best once the prunes are nearly soft. Adding it too early can slow softening, since sugar firms cell walls in fruit, so the prunes may stay tough.
“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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