Why it works: Cranberry and sugar work together. They rank in the top 25% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 374 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Prune Tarts
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the filling
Scald the prunes, remove the stones and pits.
Combine the prunes and pits with cranberry juice and add sugar.
Simmer for 10 minutes, then let cool.
Assemble the tarts
Use the mixture to fill the short pastry to make tarts.
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.
-
Cranberry + sugartop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together374 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
- Prunes
- Provide the main fruit flavor and soft, thick body once simmered into the filling.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the tart filling and balances the tartness of the prunes and juice.
- Short pastry
- Forms the crisp, sturdy shell that holds the filling.
The step that matters
Simmering the prune mixture. Simmering softens the fruit and lets it thicken as liquid reduces; if it is too wet or undercooked the filling can run out of the tart shell, and if it is overcooked it can scorch on the bottom of the pan.
“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.

Cranberry Ice11 recipes
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes