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 ↓
Apple Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the juice
Cut the apples into quarters and add the water.
Simmer for about 30 minutes.
Set a sieve over an earthen pan and pour the apples into it to drain without stirring.
Let the juice stand and settle for 30 minutes.
Make the jelly
Combine ½ pint of juice with 1 pound of sugar and boil for 10 minutes.
Strain the mixture into molds or jars.
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.
-
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
- Tart apples
- Provide the pectin and acidity that help the juice set into a jelly.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and helps it set firm as it boils.
- Water
- Extracts juice from the apples during simmering.
The step that matters
Draining without stirring. Pressing or stirring the apples forces cloudy pulp through the sieve, which makes the jelly murky. Letting the juice drip through on its own gives a clear result.
“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.
More apple jelly recipes
You might also like
Apple Pudding256 recipes
Apple Cake80 recipes
Apple Meringue75 recipes
Dried Apple Cake51 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.