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 Marmalade
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the apricots
Boil the apricots until tender.
Rub the boiled apricots through a sieve.
Cook the marmalade
Mix the sieved apricots with ¾ pound of sugar.
Boil the mixture for 20 to 30 minutes.
For a richer preserve, remove the skins and halve or quarter the apricots.
Sprinkle the apricots with their weight in fine sugar and let sit for several hours.
Heat the apricots slowly and gently simmer for about 30 minutes.
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 flavour, body and natural pectin that helps the preserve thicken.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the mixture set and keep well.
The step that matters
Heat the apricots slowly and gently simmer. Sugar-rich fruit scorches easily over high heat and can turn bitter. Gentle simmering lets the pectin and sugar concentrate evenly so the preserve thickens without burning.
“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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