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 Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the quince
Peel and core the quince, then chop into small pieces.
Boil the quince in water until soft, then drain and mash until smooth.
Make the jam
In a pot, combine the smooth quince and brown sugar.
Boil for 20 minutes, stirring often until thickened.
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
- Provides the fruit base and pectin that help the jam set and thicken.
- Brown sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it thicken as the mixture cooks down.
The step that matters
Boil for 20 minutes, stirring often until thickened. Sugar and fruit must cook down to a concentrated mixture for the jam to set. Stirring often prevents the sugar and fruit from scorching on the bottom of the pot, which would give a burnt flavor.
“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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