Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Fruit Glace
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Combine sugar, water, vinegar, and cream of tartar in a saucepan.
Heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves.
Glaze and serve
Dip the fruit in the syrup to coat.
Allow the coated fruit to dry before serving.
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 + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Vinegar + creamtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,064 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Forms the syrup that hardens into a glossy, sweet coating on the fruit.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the syrup, helping prevent the sugar from crystallizing.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that helps keep the syrup smooth and stops sugar from crystallizing.
The step that matters
Heating until the sugar dissolves. If sugar crystals remain undissolved, they can seed grainy crystallization in the syrup. Stirring until fully dissolved before the syrup boils keeps the glaze clear and smooth.
“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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