Why it works: Cider and apple are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,238 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓
Apple Butter
Ingredients
Directions
Boil down the cider to two-thirds its original quantity.
Pare, core, and slice enough apples to cover the cider.
Boil slowly, stirring often until the apples are tender.
Remove the apples with a perforated skimmer, draining well.
Add a second supply of apples and stew them soft.
Combine everything in a large crock and let it stand for 12 hours.
Return to the kettle and boil down, stirring until thick and brown.
Spice well with mixed spices.
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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Cider + appletop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,238 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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