Why it works: Plum and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,313 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Green Gage Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Wash the fruit and stew it with enough water to prevent scorching.
Mash the fruit and strain the pulp through a colander.
Make the jam
Add 1 pound of sugar to 2 cups of pulp.
Dissolve the sugar and boil until it becomes a smooth mass.
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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Plum + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,313 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
- Green gage plums
- Provide the fruit pulp that forms the body and flavour of the jam.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, as it dissolves and boils, helps it thicken and set.
The step that matters
Boil until a smooth mass forms. Sugar must dissolve fully before boiling so it does not crystallise. Boiling concentrates the pulp and sugar until the mixture thickens and sets, so under-boiling leaves it runny while over-boiling can make it stiff and dark.
“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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