Why it works: Melon and syrup work together. They rank in the top 20% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Preserved Melons in Syrup
Ingredients
Directions
Select melons that are not too ripe. Cut them into slices, remove the seeds and rind.
Cut the slices into three or four pieces and parboil them until tender.
Immerse the pieces in cold water for two hours.
Trim the melon pieces and place them in an earthen jar.
Cover the melon with cold syrup and let it sit for two hours, then drain off the syrup.
Cook the syrup to 16 degrees, let it cool slightly, and pour it over the melon. Repeat this process four times, twice a day.
On the fifth time, cook the syrup to 32 degrees, add the melon, and let it boil once.
Remove from heat and let it sit for 1.5 hours. Once cool, transfer to jars and seal tightly.
Store the jars in a cool, dry place. If fermentation occurs, boil the mixture again.
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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Melon + syruptop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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