Why it works: Apple and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Pineapple Jak
Ingredients
Directions
Weigh the peeled apple and sugar to ensure they are equal.
Grate the apple using a coarse grater.
Combine the grated apple and sugar in a kettle.
Boil the mixture for 30 to 40 minutes.
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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Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Apple and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Apple
- Supplies pectin and bulk, which help the jam thicken and set as it cooks.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and draws water out of the fruit, helping thicken and preserve the jam.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture for 30 to 40 minutes. As water evaporates, the sugar and apple pectin concentrate and gel. Too little boiling leaves the jam runny, while prolonged heat can scorch the sugar, so keep the mixture at a steady boil and stir often.
“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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