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
Divide the apricots, laying the hollow parts uppermost on china dishes.
Strew 12 ounces of sifted sugar over every pound of fruit and let it sit until moist.
Cook
Boil the mixture for 20 minutes, stirring well.
Blanch the kernels and add them to the jam while boiling.
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, pectin and tartness that form the jam's body and flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and draws moisture out of the fruit, helping it thicken as it cooks.
- Apricot kernels
- Add a subtle almond-like aroma to the jam.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture for 20 minutes, stirring well. Stirring keeps the sugar and fruit from scorching on the bottom of the pan, and sustained boiling drives off water so the jam thickens and sets as it cools.
“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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