Why it works: Plum and sugar 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 Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Extract the juice
Place the plums in a preserving kettle and cover with water.
Heat slowly and simmer until the plums are soft enough to mash.
Transfer the mixture to a flannel jelly bag and let it drip until the pulp is dry.
Boil the juice rapidly for twenty minutes, skimming often.
Measure the juice and return it to the fire.
Make the jelly
Once it boils, add an equal amount of sugar.
Boil until it jellies, about fifteen to twenty minutes.
Pour into tumblers and let sit for two to three days before covering with paper and storing in a cool, dry place.
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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Plum + sugartop 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
- Provide the pectin and natural acid that let the juice set into a jelly.
- Granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the juice gel when boiled to the setting point.
The step that matters
Boil until it jellies. Jelly sets only when enough sugar, acid and pectin are concentrated by boiling. Undercooked jelly stays runny, while overcooking can make it stiff and cloudy.
“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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