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Dessert

Pommes a LA Hollandaisc

A sweet apple compote simmered in sugar syrup and finished with a rich liqueur.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Apple and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 16,440 recipes mention both. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

The recipe

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the apples

  1. Peel and core the apples, then prick them all over.

Poach in syrup

  1. Make a syrup by combining sugar and water in a pan.

  2. Add the apples to the syrup and set over a very slow fire.

  3. Once the syrup simmers, move the pan to the side and let the apples absorb the syrup until clear.

Finish and serve

  1. Remove the apples and arrange them in a glass dish.

  2. Add the liqueur to the syrup and mix well.

  3. Serve around the apples.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Apple + sugartop 9% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together16,440 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Apple and sugar share little aroma chemistry, yet 16,440 recipes mention both: they likely 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

Apples
Provide the fruit body that softens and turns translucent as it absorbs the syrup.
Sugar
Sweetens the dish and, dissolved in water, forms the syrup that the apples absorb.
Liqueur
Adds aroma and flavour to the syrup that coats the finished apples.

The step that matters

Keeping the syrup at a gentle simmer. Over high heat the syrup reduces too quickly and the apples can break apart or scorch before they absorb enough sugar. A very slow fire lets the sugar penetrate evenly, so the apples become clear and hold their shape.

“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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