Why it works: Peach and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,308 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Peach Marmalade
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the peaches
Pare and halve the peaches, removing the stones.
Weigh the peaches and use ½ pound of sugar for each pound of fruit.
Mash the peaches with the sugar and place them in a preserving kettle.
Cook the marmalade
Boil slowly for about 45 minutes until it becomes a shapeless mass, stirring frequently.
Blanch half the peach kernels, cut them in half, and add them to the marmalade when it's half done for flavor.
Remove the kernels once the marmalade is cold and store it in pots or glasses, covering with paper dipped in brandy.
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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Peach + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,308 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ripe peaches
- Provide the main fruit, pectin-bearing pulp and body that breaks down into the marmalade.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and, as it concentrates, helps the marmalade thicken and keep.
- Blanched peach kernels
- Add a subtle almond-like aroma to the marmalade as it cooks.
The step that matters
Boil slowly until a shapeless mass forms. Cooking long enough lets water evaporate and sugar concentrate so the fruit sets. Stirring often prevents scorching on the bottom of the kettle, which would give a burnt flavor.
“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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