Why it works: Apple and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Apple Marmalade
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Scald apples until they can be pulped from the core.
Dip sugar in water and boil until it forms a thick syrup.
Make the marmalade
Add the apple pulp to the syrup and simmer for 15 minutes over high heat.
Store
Store in small pots covered with paper dipped in brandy.
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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Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Apple and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes: they 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 pulp that gives the marmalade its body and natural pectin for a soft set.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the marmalade and, as it boils down, thickens into a syrup that helps preserve it.
The step that matters
Simmering the pulp into the syrup. As water evaporates, the sugar and fruit concentrate and the mixture thickens. Too short a simmer leaves it runny, while too long over high heat can scorch the sugar and darken the flavour.
“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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