Name: Molasses Quince
Ingredients: equal quantities of quince; equal quantities of sweet apples (not peeled); ¾ the quantity of molasses

Why it works: Quince and apple work together. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 506 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓

Molasses Quince

Ingredients

equal quantities of quince
equal quantities of sweet apples (not peeled)
¾ the quantity of molasses

Directions

Combine quince, sweet apples, and molasses in a pot.
Cook over medium heat until the fruit is soft.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Quince + appletop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together506 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Apple + molassestop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together970 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Quince + molassestop 29% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together39 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Quince: Provides the main fruit body and its distinctive floral, tart flavour.
Sweet apples: Add natural pectin and sweetness to help the fruit mass set and soften.
Molasses: Adds deep sweetness and a rich, caramel-like flavour to the fruit.