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
Soak the prunes in warm water for 15 minutes to soften any dirt.
Wash the prunes carefully, discarding any that feel granular or are worm-eaten.
Stew and serve
Stew the prunes in the sugar and water in a covered saucepan for 1 to 2 hours, or until tender.
As the water evaporates, add more water to maintain the original amount.
Add the lemon juice before removing from heat.
Cool and serve.
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
- Form the main body of the dish, softening into a tender, fruity stew as they cook.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the tartness of the prunes.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour of the stewed fruit.
The step that matters
Maintaining the water level while stewing. Stewing for one to two hours lets the liquid evaporate, and if the prunes are left dry they can scorch and stick to the pan. Topping up the water keeps the fruit moist so it softens evenly.
“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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