Why it works: Apple and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Bacon and Apples
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and fry
Slice the apples into 1-2 inch thick pieces and remove the cores without peeling.
Fry the bacon slices until crisp and remove them from the pan.
In the bacon drippings, fry the apple slices until tender.
Finish
Add sugar to the apples to taste.
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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Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Apple and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 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
- Very tart apples
- Provide the main fruit body and sharp acidity that sugar and bacon fat balance.
- Thin slices of bacon
- Supply rendered fat for frying the apples and savory, salty flavor.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the tartness of the apples.
The step that matters
Fry the apples in the drippings until tender. Apple slices brown quickly in hot fat, so use moderate heat and turn them so they soften through before the outside scorches.
“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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