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 Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the quinces
Pare, quarter, and core the quinces, then weigh them.
Place the quinces in a pot with 2 cups of water and simmer gently until slightly broken, about 30 minutes.
Strain the mixture through a jelly bag or fine cloth without pressing.
Make the jelly
Weigh the juice and pour it into a clean preserving pan.
Boil the juice quickly for 20 minutes.
Stir in the sugar until fully dissolved.
Continue stirring and skimming for another 10 to 20 minutes until it jellies strongly.
Pour the jelly into glasses or molds and let it cool.
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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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 flavor and natural pectin that lets the juice set into jelly.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and helps it set firm and hold its shape.
The step that matters
Continue stirring and skimming until it jellies strongly. Quinces are high in pectin, but the jelly only sets once enough water has evaporated and the sugar concentration is high enough. Stopping too early leaves a runny result, while cooking too long can make it stiff and dull in flavor.
“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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