Why it works: Pineapple and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,841 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Pineapple Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Peel and remove the eyes from the pineapples, then grate them.
For each pound of fruit, add ½ pound of white sugar and let it sit for 2‑3 hours.
Place the mixture in a porcelain‑lined preserving kettle and heat slowly until it approaches boiling.
Boil gently until the fruit is tender.
Hang a jelly bag over an earthen bowl and pour the hot pineapple and syrup into it.
Let the syrup drain through the bag without pressing it, ideally overnight.
Make the jelly
For each pint of juice, add ½ pound of sugar and boil gently, skimming off any scum.
After about 15 minutes, test a small amount on a saucer to see if it hardens.
If it doesn't harden, continue boiling.
Test again for hardness.
Remove the jelly from the heat and let it cool to lukewarm.
Pot and seal
Pour the jelly into glasses and let it cool completely.
Once firm, cover each glass with a piece of white paper dipped in brandy.
Seal the tops with pieces of white paper dipped in slightly beaten egg white to exclude air.
Store the jelly in a cool, dark, dry place.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Pineapple + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,841 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Perfectly ripe pineapples
- Provide the fruit, juice and natural pectin-rich body that sets the jelly.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and helps it gel and keep well as it thickens.
The step that matters
Testing for hardness before removing from heat. Jelly sets as its sugar and pectin concentrate during boiling. Removing it too early leaves a runny jelly, while overcooking can make it stiff or grainy, so test on a cold saucer.
“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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