Why it works: Quince and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,444 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Quince Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Rub the quinces clean.
Cover the quinces with water and boil until tender.
Remove the quinces and take out the cores.
Put the cores back in the water and boil for 30 minutes.
Make the jam
Strain the liquid and measure it.
Add 1 lb of sugar for every quart of liquid and 1 lb of sugar for every lb of pulp.
Boil all together until it reaches a good color.
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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Quince + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,444 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
- Quinces
- Their natural pectin helps the jam set, and their pulp gives body and flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, as it concentrates through boiling, helps it thicken and keep.
The step that matters
Boil all together until it reaches a good color. Sugar and pulp must cook down until the mixture thickens and sets. Sugar can scorch or darken too far if the heat is too high or the pan is left unattended, so stir often and watch closely.
“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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