Why it works: Plum and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,313 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Plum Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the plums and halve them if they are very large.
Cook the jam
In a pot, bring the plums to a boil.
Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
Boil for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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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Plum + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,313 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
- Plums
- Provide the fruit, pectin and acidity that give the jam its body and tang.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it thicken and set as it cooks down.
The step that matters
Boil for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sugar and fruit must reach a high enough concentration to set. Stirring prevents scorching on the bottom of the pot, which would taste burnt.
“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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