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 ↓
Dried Apricots
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Pare and stone the apricots, then place them in a preserving pan.
Pound and sift the sugar, sprinkle a little over the apricots, and cover them with the rest.
Soak and boil
Let the apricots sit for 24 hours, turning them in the syrup three or four times.
Boil the apricots quickly until they look clear.
Once cooled, remove them and place them on plates.
Dry and store
In a stove, turn the apricots every half hour on the first day, every hour on the second day, and continue until dry.
Store the dried apricots in covered boxes for later use.
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 that is preserved, softened and dried into the finished product.
- Double refined sugar
- Draws moisture out of the fruit and forms a syrup that preserves it and gives sweetness.
The step that matters
Turning the apricots in the syrup and during drying. Regular turning keeps each piece evenly coated and exposed to air, so sugar penetrates uniformly and the fruit dries without sticking or spoiling in patches.
“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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