Why it works: Quince and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,444 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Quince Marmalade
Ingredients
Directions
Combine quince pulp and sugar in a pot.
Add enough water to dissolve the sugar.
Boil the mixture, stirring constantly, until it is perfectly smooth.
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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Quince + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,444 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
- Quince pulp
- Provides the fruit body and pectin that give the marmalade its set and flavour.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the marmalade and helps it set into a thick, spreadable texture.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture, stirring constantly. Sugar and fruit can scorch on the bottom of the pot if left unstirred during boiling. Constant stirring keeps heat even and the mixture smooth, while the sugar concentrates and the pectin gels as it reaches setting point.
“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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