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 Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Remove the stones from the plums and place them in a large dish.
Sprinkle roughly pounded sugar over the plums and let them sit for one day.
Cook
Transfer the plums to a preserving pan and simmer gently by the side of the fire for about 30 minutes.
Boil the mixture rapidly for another 15 minutes, stirring constantly and removing any scum that rises.
Optionally, crack some of the stones and add a few kernels to the jam just before it is done for added flavor.
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
- Provide the fruit, pectin and tart flavor that form the body of the jam.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it set as it thickens during cooking.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture rapidly while stirring constantly. Sugar and fruit must reach a rapid boil to thicken into a set jam. Constant stirring prevents scorching on the pan base, and skimming scum keeps the jam clear.
“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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