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 Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Divide the apricots, placing the hollow sides up on a dish.
Sprinkle the sugar over the apricots and let them sit until moist.
Cook
Boil the mixture for 20 minutes, stirring well.
Blanch the apricot kernels and add them to the jam while boiling.
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.
-
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 main fruit flavor and the bulk of the jam.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam, draws moisture out of the fruit, and helps the jam set.
- Apricot kernels
- Add a subtle almond-like aroma to the jam.
The step that matters
Boiling the mixture for 20 minutes while stirring well. Boiling concentrates the sugar and fruit until the jam thickens enough to set. Stirring keeps the sugar and fruit from scorching on the bottom of the pan, which would give the jam a burnt taste.
“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.
More apricot jam recipes
You might also like
Apricot Ice Cream26 recipes
Mixed Fruit Sherbet6 recipes
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.