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 Marmalade
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the plums
Wash and drain the plums, then cut them to the stone with a silver knife.
Place the plums in a preserving kettle over medium heat.
Stir often to prevent burning and skim off the stones as they rise to the surface.
Simmer the plums until tender enough to rub through a sieve.
Make the pulp
Crack about a quarter of the stones, peel the kernels, and cut them into strips.
Rub the plums through a sieve using a wooden spoon or potato masher.
Add the kernels to the pulp and weigh it.
Make the marmalade
Add 1 ½ pounds of sugar for every 2 pounds of fruit.
Combine the fruit and sugar in the preserving kettle, stirring until it boils.
Gently boil for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
Partly cool the marmalade and then store it as directed.
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 main fruit body, pectin and tartness that set the marmalade.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the marmalade and helps it thicken and set as it cooks.
- Plum stones
- Kernels are cracked out and added to the pulp for a subtle almond-like aroma.
The step that matters
Stirring while the marmalade boils. Sugar-rich fruit scorches easily on the bottom of the kettle, and a thick mixture can burn before it reaches a set. Constant stirring spreads the heat evenly and keeps the sugar from catching.
“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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