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 ↓
Ckeamated Apples
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the apples
Choose apples that will cook nicely without breaking.
Pare and core the apples whole.
Make a syrup with 1 pound of sugar and 1 pint of water.
Add the apples to the syrup and boil gently until three-fourths done.
Remove the apples and place them in a 400°F (200°C) oven for a few minutes.
Finish and serve
Boil down the syrup.
Fill the center of each hot apple with marmalade.
Roll each apple in the syrup.
Arrange the apples on a dish in a dome shape.
Beat 2 egg whites with 2 tablespoons of sugar to make a meringue.
Pour the meringue over the apples and brown in the oven.
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).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Apple + eggtop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,461 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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
- Apples
- Hold their shape while cooking and form the body of the dessert.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the syrup and helps the apples take on a glossy coating.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a meringue that forms the light topping and browns in the oven.
- Marmalade
- Fills the apple centers, adding a sweet and tangy flavor.
The step that matters
Boil the apples gently until three-fourths done. Boiling hard can split the apples before they are ready to be filled and shaped. Gentle heat softens them evenly while keeping their structure intact for the later oven step.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Lemonfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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