Why it works: Sugar and apple are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Damson Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Pick the damsons carefully.
In a preserving pan, combine damsons and sugar.
Cook
Place the pan on a brisk fire.
Stir with a wooden spoon until boiling.
Boil for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat.
Skim off any foam.
Pot
Pot the jam.
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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Sugar + appletop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and apple barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Damsons
- Provide the fruit, pectin and tart flavour that form the body of the jam.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it set and keep by drawing out water and firming the fruit.
The step that matters
Boil for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly. Sugar and fruit must reach a rolling boil long enough to concentrate and set. Constant stirring prevents scorching on the bottom of the pan, which would give a burnt taste.
“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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