Why it works: Quince and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,444 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Quince Honey
Ingredients
Directions
In a large pot, combine water and sugar, and bring to a boil.
Boil for 25 minutes before adding the grated quinces.
Continue to boil until the mixture thickens to a honey-like consistency.
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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Quince + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,444 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
- Quinces
- Provide the fruit flavour and natural pectin that helps the syrup thicken as it cooks.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the dish and, as it cooks down, thickens the syrup to a honey-like texture.
The step that matters
Thickening to a honey-like consistency. Sugar syrup thickens as water evaporates and concentrates, so the cook must boil long enough to reach the right texture without scorching the sugar at the bottom of the pot.
“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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