Why it works: Rhubarb and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,852 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Rhubarb Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wipe the rhubarb clean and pare it quickly.
Weigh the rhubarb and cut it into half-inch lengths.
Mix the rhubarb with an equal weight of sugar and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes to draw out the juice.
Cook
Transfer the mixture to a preserving pan and heat it slowly.
Once the stalks are tender, boil the mixture rapidly for about 30 minutes, stirring well.
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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Rhubarb + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,852 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
- Rhubarb
- Provides the tart flavour and the pectin-bearing fibre that gives the jam its body.
- Sugar
- Draws out the rhubarb's juice and provides sweetness, and helps the jam set as it thickens.
The step that matters
Boiling rapidly after the stalks soften. Once the rhubarb is tender, a rapid boil with constant stirring drives off water and concentrates the sugar. Boiling too gently or too briefly leaves the jam thin, while stirring prevents the sugar from scorching on the bottom of the pan.
“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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