Why it works: Pineapple and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,841 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Strawberry-pineapple Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Remove the tops from the strawberries and chop the pineapple if using fresh.
Measure the strawberries and pineapple, then use an equal amount of sugar.
Cook the jam
Combine the fruit and sugar in a pot.
Boil the mixture until it thickens.
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.
-
Pineapple + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,841 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Strawberries
- Provide the main fruit flavor, color, and body of the jam.
- Pineapple
- Adds tart brightness and natural fruit pectin to help the jam set.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, as it thickens, helps it set and preserves the fruit.
The step that matters
Boiling until it thickens. Sugar and fruit must reach a hard boil long enough for pectin and sugar to gel as the mixture cooks down. Stopping too early leaves a runny jam, while cooking too long can make it stiff and dull in flavor.
“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.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Pineapple Sherbet116 recipes
Pineapple Pudding72 recipes
Pineapple Cream58 recipes
Pineapple Jelly39 recipes