Why it works: Sugar and apple are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 16,440 recipes mention both. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: egg, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
In a pot, combine sugar and water. Cover and cook slowly.
If necessary, turn the apples carefully to avoid breaking them.
Once tender, remove the apples and place them on a heatproof plate or platter.
When cooled, fill each apple with sugar and drained preserved cherries.
Cut puff pastry into long strips, about the width of a straw.
Wrap a strip around each apple, securing the lower end and flattening the top to cover the opening.
Bake the apples until the pastry is golden and serve hot.
If desired, glaze the apples and pastry with beaten egg yolk before baking.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Sugar + appletop 9% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together16,440 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + eggtop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together122,252 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Apple + eggtop 19% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together7,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-octenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and apple share little aroma chemistry, yet 16,440 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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IllustrationThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
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