Why it works: Lemon and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Apple Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the apples
Peel the apples and boil them with water and isinglass.
Once the isinglass is dissolved and the apples are pulpy, strain the mixture.
Finish the jelly
Add the lemon juice and grated rind, along with the sugar.
Boil together for 20 minutes and strain again.
Serve as a sweetener for apple pies.
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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Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Golden pippins or margills apples
- Provide pectin and fruit flavour that help the jelly thicken and taste of apple.
- Isinglass
- Acts as a gelling agent, setting the strained liquid into a firm jelly as it cools.
- Loaf sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the jelly set and keep well.
- Lemon
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and supports the set.
The step that matters
Boil together for 20 minutes and strain again. Sugar and acid must be boiled to concentrate the liquid so it sets when cool. Boiling too briefly leaves the jelly runny, while boiling too long can darken it and make it taste caramelised.
“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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