Why it works: Apricot and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,630 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Apricot Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Pare and cut the apricots into halves.
Break the stones and blanch the kernels, then add them to the apricot halves.
Cook
In a pot, combine the apricots, sugar, and water.
Cook over medium heat, stirring well until the mixture thickens but is not too stiff.
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 + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,630 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
- Apricots
- Provide the fruit body, flavor, and pectin that gives the jam its structure as it cooks.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it thicken and set as it cooks down.
- Apricot kernels
- Add a subtle almond-like aroma to the jam.
The step that matters
Cooking until the mixture thickens. Stop when the jam thickens but is not too stiff. Sugar and fruit pectin set as water evaporates, so overcooking can make the jam stiff and dense, while undercooking leaves it runny.
“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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