Why it works: Plum and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,313 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Plum and Damson Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Stone the fruit before boiling, especially for children.
Use English fruit for the best results; avoid Dutch mussel plums.
If the fruit is sweet, use 12 ounces of sugar; if sour, use 14 to 16 ounces.
Make the jam
Combine the fruit, sugar, and a little water in a pan.
Cook as you would for other jams, testing for doneness.
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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Plum + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,313 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
- Plums or damsons
- Provide the fruit, pectin and acidity that give the jam its flavour and set.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it thicken and keep well as it cooks.
The step that matters
Testing for doneness. Jam sets as it cooks and its sugar concentration rises. Stopping too early leaves it runny, while cooking too long can make it stiff or caramelised.
“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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