Why it works: Apricot and pineapple match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 377 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Tutti Frutti
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Soak the nuts and fruit in a syrup of equal parts water and sugar until soft.
Chop the soaked nuts and fruit very small.
Assemble the mold
In a quart mold, spread ½ pint of pineapple ice.
Set the mold in a mixture of ice and salt.
Mix the chopped nuts and fruit with 1 pint of orange ice.
Pack the mixture well on top of the pineapple ice.
Smooth the surface. Fill the mold to the brim with pineapple ice.
Press the cover down to remove excess. Bind a buttered strip over the joint.
Freeze
Pack the mold in ice and salt. Freeze for 2 to 3 hours.
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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Apricot + pineappletop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together377 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Almond + apricottop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together852 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Orange + pineappletop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,664 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Almond + orangetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,125 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Syrup + sugartop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,842 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Blanched almonds
- Add crunch and nutty texture that contrasts with the soft frozen ice.
- French candied cherries
- Add sweetness, chewy texture and bright color to the mixture.
- Candied apricots
- Add sweetness and chewy texture through the orange ice.
- Candied dwarf orange
- Adds concentrated citrus sweetness and chewy bits throughout the mixture.
- Sugar syrup
- Softens the nuts and fruit and adds sweetness before chopping.
The step that matters
Pack the mold in ice and salt. Salt lowers the melting point of the ice, so the brine gets colder than plain ice and freezes the mold firmly. Sealing the joint keeps brine out of the dessert.
“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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