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Dessert

Rhubarb and Fig Jam

A jam made from rhubarb, figs, sugar, and candied peel.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Rhubarb and fig share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 48 recipes. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, which smells clove, smoky. The science ↓

Rhubarb and Fig Jam

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the rhubarb

  1. Cut the rhubarb into small pieces.

  2. Layer the rhubarb with half of the sugar.

  3. Cover and let sit overnight.

  4. Strain off the juice the next day.

Cook the jam

  1. Boil the juice with the remaining sugar.

  2. Add the rhubarb to the boiling mixture and cook for 30 to 40 minutes.

  3. Stir in the chopped figs and continue boiling for about 30 minutes.

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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Rhubarb + figtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together48 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

  2. Fig + sugartop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,241 recipes

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

  3. Rhubarb + sugartop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,852 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

Rhubarb
Provides the bulk and tart flavour, and breaks down into the jam's body as it cooks.
Sugar
Draws juice out of the rhubarb and sweetens the jam, helping it set as it thickens.
Figs
Add body, sweetness and a mellow flavour to the jam.

The step that matters

Boiling the juice with the sugar before adding the rhubarb. Sugar dissolved in the boiling juice thickens it and begins the set. Adding the rhubarb to this hot syrup, rather than to cold juice, keeps the cooking even and helps the fruit hold its shape.

Swap the rhubarb

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fig, sugar):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Rhubarbthe original
  3. Nutmegfits about as well
  4. Clovefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against fig, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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