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 ↓
Apricot Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Stone the apricots and mash them in a copper preserving pan.
Set the pan over the fire and stir continuously.
Pass the mixture through a colander.
Cook the jam
Boil the fruit for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add 15 ounces of powdered sugar for every pound of apricots and boil for 30 minutes, stirring all the while.
Pot and cover
Once done, pour into pans and let cool.
Cover with brandied paper.
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
- Ripe apricots
- Provide the main fruit flavour and the body of the jam.
- Powdered sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the jam thicken and keep well.
The step that matters
Boiling with the sugar for 30 minutes. Sugar must be stirred in and boiled long enough to concentrate the mixture and help it set. Constant stirring prevents the sugar and fruit 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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