Why it works: Rhubarb and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,852 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Rhubarb Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Wash the rhubarb and cut it into small pieces.
Place half of the rhubarb in the top of a double boiler over hot water to extract the juice.
Transfer the juice to a preserving kettle and add the remaining rhubarb.
Cook the rhubarb until very tender, then let it drip from a jelly bag to extract all the juice.
Make and set the jelly
Measure the juice and add an equal amount of heated white sugar.
Boil the mixture for about 45 minutes, tasting to check for doneness.
Pour the jelly into jars and set them in the sun for 24 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Rhubarb + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,852 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rhubarb
- Provides the tart flavour and the natural pectin and acid that help the juice set into jelly.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the juice and, as it concentrates on boiling, helps the jelly gel and keep its set.
The step that matters
Boiling the juice with sugar. Boiling must go on until the mixture reaches the gel point. Too little boiling leaves the jelly runny, while overcooking can turn it stiff and dull in flavour. Tasting for doneness helps judge when the set is right.
“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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