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 ↓
Confiture De Prunes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Remove the kernels from the plums.
Cook the jam
In a preserving pan, combine the plums and sugar.
Cook over heat, stirring until done.
To test, place a bit on a plate; if it leaves a string when pressed, it's ready.
Prepare the kernels
Break the stones, remove the kernels, and soak them in hot water to remove the skin.
Finish
Mix the kernels in a few minutes before removing from heat.
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 acid that help the jam thicken and set.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness, helps the jam set, and preserves it.
The step that matters
Test for set before removing from heat. Sugar and fruit pectin only gain set when the mixture reaches the right concentration. Stopping too early leaves runny jam, while cooking too long can scorch the sugar and make it stiff.
“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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